Library of congress.} 

# BR \ao I 

J UNITED ST." , AMERICA. 1 



i 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY ; 

OR, AN ATTEMPT TO MSPLAY, 

BY INTERNAL TESTIMONY, 

THE 

EVIDENCE AND EXCELLENCE 

OF 

REVEALED RELIGION. 



BY VICESIMUS KNOX, D.D. 

LATE FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD, AND MASTER OF 
TUN BRIDGE SCHOOL. 



WITH 

AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 

BY THE 

REV. HENRY STEBBING, M.A. 



V 

LONDON 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED liY 

JOSEPH RICKERBY, SHERBOURN LANE, 

(KING WILLIAM STREET.) 




1836. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



Christianity, and the arguments on which it is 
established, have a universal and never to be dimi- 
nished value. The reasonings of politicians, and 
even of philosophers, have a limited application : 
those of the Christian teacher pertain to the in- 
terests of mankind at large ; and neither time 
nor circumstance can diminish their real impor- 
tance, or deprive them of the interest they pos- 
sess in thoughtful and ingenuous minds. But this 
can only properly be said of Christian doctrine 
purely and honestly exhibited ; or of meditations 
on its application, which display throughout the 
spirit of its precepts, their elevation, their simpli- 
city, their benignity. Theology, therefore, is a 
science which can recognize no fundamental prin- 
ciple not plainly traceable in the book of God ; nor 
can it be expected to produce any effect, however 
taught, without the assistance of that same divine 
influence which originally gave efficacy to the 



viii 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



written word. Its vast importance, on the other 
hand, to the world at large, demands our most 
careful cultivation ; and from this twofold conside- 
ration we arrive at the conclusion, that in the writ- 
ings of those men whose hearts were confessedly 
imbued with the love of God, and whose minds 
with patient labour, and in the exercise of devout 
thoughts, stored up divine precept, Christians may 
look with safety for the expanded argument of 
their faith ; may find therein the living fountain of 
truth still on the flow ; and discover those traces of 
the divine Spirit which give equal light and encou- 
ragement to the anxious inquirer after knowledge. 

One of the chief benefits conferred upon man- 
kind by the writings of eminent Christians, is found 
in the uniformity of their assent to the prime doc- 
trines of grace. Differing in expression, in the 
forms of statement, in the species of illustration 
employed, and even in the advocacy of their several 
ecclesiastical systems, they agree in whatever con- 
cerns the fundamental relations of man to God ; 
and redemption and the methods of sane tifi ca- 
tion, as described in the pages of the earliest fathers, 
have been spoken of with equal clearness by each 
successive generation of Christ's faithful servants. 
There is one Spifit and one faith, is the golden in- 
scription on the portal of the church; and the lesson 
it conveys is repeated in every proof that can be 
given of the communion of God's chosen people. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



ix 



The importance of this uniformity of testimony 
to the doctrines of grace, is greatly increased by the 
efforts which have been made in the world to modify 
or suppress them. It is nothing less than disho- 
nesty to pretend that these efforts have been con- 
fined to the ordinary movements of declared oppo- 
nents of the gospel. Unfortunately, the history of 
religious opinion abounds in evidence that the most 
systematic attempts have been made by professors 
of Christianity to lower the standard of its doctrines ; 
and this in the face of truth, so fully and implicitly 
set forth, that the hostility to its lessons must needs 
be regarded as direct rather than incidental. 

It is the noble characteristic of our older theolo- 
gians, and of those who followed in their track, 
that they ever seek, with the overflowing gratitude 
of love, to make known and exalt the mercy of the 
Almighty. They show no petty anxiety to save 
the credit of human nature, by asserting its inde- 
pendence of God ; nor any desire to luxuriate in 
the spectacle of a race of fallen creatures made 
brave, generous, and true, by the force of moral 
precept. Satisfied of the universality of the divine 
goodness, and of the thankless and rebellious cha- 
racter of^man, they rejoice in contemplating the 
method whereby their great originating cause of 
being has still continued to work, securing the 
recovery of the lost, and the glory of the re- 
covered. Instead of speaking as if their happi- 



X 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



ness or dignity depended on proving what they 
could do by their own energy and knowledge, 
they point to the grace of God as the true source 
of power; and acknowledging that every good 
and every perfect gift is from above, describe the 
convictions of faith as the fruit of spiritual and 
moral conversion. 

The vast difference between the style of these 
writers, and that employed by the simple advo- 
cates of moral discipline, must be attributed either 
to an uncertainty in the statement of doctrine, as 
found in Scripture itself, or to the opposite nature 
of the aim which these various parties have had in 
view. How few believers in revelation would feel 
willing to shelter the difficulties of their system 
under the plea, that the broad outline of Scripture 
truth is but faintly described : and if we are left 
to examine the probable interpretation of God's 
word, by an appeal to the known aim of the inter- 
preters, that surely may most safely be received in 
which the goodness and justice of God are most 
manifestly displayed. 

Christianity may be studied, and its value esti- 
mated/first, as it is a spiritual and regenerative sys- 
tem ; and secondly, as it operates on the world by 
its precepts and by its gradually acquired political 
authority. Under each of these views the subject 
demands attentive consideration ; but the social 
character of Christianity, or that by which it acts 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



xi 



on the community, is not that which may be de- 
scribed as born with the system. Constituted as 
it is, it could not but acquire a relation to what- 
ever belongs to man — to his wants, his hopes, and 
wishes. Its importance, its usefulness, its power, 
do literally grow with the growth of society, and 
the enlargement of the civilizing process. It is in 
this respect the leaven which leaveneth the whole 
lump ; a plant which spreads its roots far and 
wide under the soil, every age piercing deeper, 
though unobserved, into the heart of the universe. 

To a philosophically disposed mind, the con- 
templation of such a great moral engine in opera- 
tion, is full of interest and excitement ; nor is it to 
be supposed that a subject of this kind, properly 
weighed, can fail of producing some important 
effects in determining the feelings to a right point ; 
but it is evident that no slight or casual attention 
to its bearings will produce these effects, and that, 
therefore, the ordinary degree of notice paid to the 
moral power, and political relations of Christianity, 
is but just sufficient to conceal from the consciences 
of worldly men their utter ignorance of the real 
worth of the faith which they profess. 

Whatever good, however, may spring from the 
examination of the Christian system in its internal, 
or general influence, it is in its personal applica- 
tion, and the energy it embodies for the renewal 
and the saving of the soul, that the true believer 



xii 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



most rejoices to contemplate it. ' What is a man 
profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his 
own soul ?' is a question which carries us at once 
to the true view of Christianity. Its worth would 
be comparatively small, though it should establish 
kingdoms on an everlasting basis of peace and 
grandeur, if it did not primarily appeal to the 
hearts of individuals, and, as its grand object, offer 
them the means of sanctification and eternal life. 
In this consists its prime value ; from this arises 
its beauty, so visible, so precious, so cheering, when 
contemplated by the eye of faith; and this it is 
which renders it the sublimest exposition which 
the human soul could receive of the divine attri- 
butes and counsels. 

Our religion is a system of mysteries ; and he 
who should determine to spend his life in the in- 
vestigation of the abstrusest principles of nature, 
would have a far better hope of success in making 
discoveries, than he who should sit down in the 
pride of human wisdom, to fathom the simplest of 
Christian doctrines. Religion, as to its truths, is 
the revelation of the nature and the will of God : 
and what can be plainer than that, however clearly 
a truth may be understood, it can, after all, be 
only understood according to the capacity of the 
receiver ? But how limited must the capacity of 
the creature necessarily be, when considered in re- 
ference to the comprehension of the Creator ! If 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



xiii 



the sun should give tenfold the light it does, what 
would be the effect P Would it enable us to look 
more steadfastly on its dazzling orb ? Should we 
be nearer discovering the principle by which it is 
made an inexhaustible source of light and warmth 
to the universe ? However the splendour of its disc 
were increased, we should only be able to receive 
so much of its light as the nature of our vision 
allows; and thus the fullest manifestation of its 
glory, — the opening of its living fountains to their 
very depths, — would not enable us to penetrate 
the veil which the very glory of the object may thus 
cast around it. 

But are we then, it may be asked, to be kept for- 
ever standing in the outward court of the temple of 
truth ? Is there no means afforded us of drawing 
nearer to its altar, than according to the distance 
measured by our capacity for understanding God's 
infinite perfection ? Happily for us, the grandest 
mysteries of heavenly truth are presented to the 
Christian under a form which, without lessening 
their majesty, or weakening the transcendent light 
which they diffuse, enables us to contemplate them 
with as much comfort as astonishment. 

In the first place, then, it has ever been a main 
truth of revealed religion, that the dark weak spirit 
of man must experience, ere it can recover its love 
of truth, an entire and vital change. It has also been 
declared, with equal clearness, that the means for 



xiv 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



its recovery are willingly supplied by the Almighty 
himself, who drawing it towards him with many in- 
vitations of mercy ; pours into it a stream of purify- 
ing, converting light. This grand revelation of 
God's readiness to re-create, as it were, the unspiri- 
tualized soul runs through every portion of the 
Scriptures written under the old covenants ; it ap- 
pears in the narrative of the times preceding the 
flood. ' My Spirit shall not always strive with men,' 
was the warning that preceded the awful sentence 
that overwhelmed the world in ruin : and what did 
it purport, but that the Almighty had long, by his 
own eternal Spirit, by the Spirit of light, wisdom, 
and love, sought to convince men of the danger of 
sin, and make them understand that there can be 
no good or happiness but in and through him P 
And the holy teachers of the law, the prophets, 
and the whole vast assemblage of those who minis- 
tered the truth in after time, whence derived they 
their knowledge ? — how learnt they to love and la- 
bour in the diffusion of holiness, but through that 
mighty power which wrought upon their souls, and 
furnished them with a kind of strength unknown to 
the rest of mankind ? 

But the sanctifying principle thus given operated 
only to a small extent ; nor did it unfold to the 
mass of mankind any method by which the Al- 
mighty might be directly approached as a Father 
by his children. The ordinances of the Mosaic 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



XV 



system pertained to a single people, and afforded 
in themselves only a dim shadow of the glory of 
God's countenance. And if, under the very tents 
of Jacob, men enjoyed not the beams of love but as 
they came through the narrow circuitous channel 
of rites and sacrifices, far more restricted in their 
approaches to his throne must those numerous 
tribes of the earth have been, who had none of the 
privileges of the covenant. 

The principle, then, that man requires great help 
from God himself, before he can know or approach 
him, was established from the beginning ; but it 
was not at first revealed with the full accompani- 
ments of spiritual gifts, and with few exceptions, 
men lived as if unconscious of the truth, that the 
human soul in its healthy state, may become the 
temple of the divinity. It was for Jesus Christ 
to publish this sublime mystery to the world at 
large ; and not merely publish the truth, but be- 
stow the grace. Under the dispensation of the 
Gospel, the paternity of God is revealed, with 
proofs and accompaniments which establish it as 
the prime truth of all religion ; and by the pro- 
vision made in the covenant of grace, the revela- 
tion is attended with a power which both enlightens 
and sanctifies. This is the wonderful and inde- 
scribably precious property of the Gospel, which the 
apostle describes, when he says, ' God, who com- 
manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 



xvi 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



shined in our hearts and his words so nobly, so 
distinctly set forth the pure nature of faith, that 
while we may learn therefrom to glory in our pri- 
vileges, we may also learn in what way the greatest 
mysteries of heavenly doctrine may be made clear 
to our souls. 

Recognizing the melancholy fact, that man in 
himself is a low, corrupted being, he compares the 
original state of his soul to that of the wide, 
waste chaos, when darkness yet brooded on the 
face of the deep, and the earth was without form 
and void. Into the bosom of that shapeless mass 
the Spirit of God infused animation and order, 
beautiful and steadfast, and circled it round with 
delight. Nor had the principle of life been given 
to that chaos but a brief space, when, lo ! from the 
everlasting recesses of heaven the Almighty poured 
forth the elements which hitherto heaven only had 
known. ' Let there be light, and there was light.' 
And after this manner it is, that the chaos of man's 
soul, first reanimated by a new principle of life, 
is then enlightened by light from heaven : but it 
is not the mere enlightening of the inner being of 
man, without respect to especial objects, that the 
Gospel is intended to effect. And herein is the 
great error of all human systems in respect to the 
communication of knowledge, or the establishment 
of moral principles : they rest in the design of im- 
proving and strengthening the minds of men by 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. xvii 

quickening them into thought; leaving them, 
when they have so done, to seek for that which 
they may delight to contemplate in the whole wide 
sphere of existence : the Gospel, on the other hand, 
while it raises and so clarifies the understanding, 
that it is fit for any exercise, and can appreciate 
good wherever found, sets out with this funda- 
mental principle, that the Almighty Spirit of 
Wisdom, when it shines in the heart of man, 
shines there for this grand and especial object — 
that it may give the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God. It has thus an end and a purpose : 
every ray of light that enters the soul, makes the 
goodness and the power of the Almighty more 
visible ; and every moment the eye of the under- 
standing, thus illuminated, is fixed on him, the 
being of the man becomes purer and more exalted 
in its tendencies. 

But neither does the Gospel stop here. The 
Spirit of wisdom and revelation is not given so 
as to enable man to penetrate, with the clear eye of 
an archangel, the secret tabernacle of the Most 
High : that would be to raise us at once to the 
condition which we must pass through the valley 
of death to reach : nor would it be possible for us, 
weak and ever exposed as we are to the returns of 
Satan, and the influences which evil has still over 
us, to bear the splendour of Jehovah's throne, if 
the flood-gates of glory were opened to our eyes. 
/ b 



xviii 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



What then is done for us, so as to make our souls 
capable of enjoying the light of the Father's coun- 
tenance, weak and infirm though they be ? How 
is it effected, that man, unfit as he is, either in con- 
dition or power, to bask in the revealed glory of the 
Almighty, should be enabled to contemplate, with 
ever increasing joy and hope, the wonders of 
eternal Majesty ? 

The method pointed out by human reason for 
arriving at the knowledge of truth, is simply this — 
the rejection of whatever statement is not fully 
comprehended by the understanding; whereas if 
this rule were founded in the nature of things, 
truth would not depend upon the eternal laws 
and relations of being, but on the power of dif- 
ferent minds, which have infinitely varied degrees 
of strength, and contemplate objects through 
mediums which perpetually change and distort 
them. 

Allowing, then, that there must be a vast portion 
of divine mysteries incomprehensible to man, yet 
not the less true, the important question arises — is 
the acknowledgment of the truth of these mys- 
teries a necessary part of religion ? And in what 
frame of mind are we most likely to acknowledge 
it, so as to make the acknowledgment a religious 
exercise ? The answer to the former of these 
questions is, in many essential points, the same as 
it would be were we to ask, is it necessary to reli- 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



XIX 



gion to confess the being of God ? For to doubt the 
truth of God's word, is to deny him the glory due 
to the first of his perfections; and in proportion as 
a mystery is, in substance, clearly stated in the 
Gospel, in that proportion is the truth of God in- 
volved in its exhibition. In respect to the latter 
question, the human mind is not only, as to its 
capacity, incapable of comprehending the whole 
extent of divine truth, but it is not always in a 
state of willingness to receive it. On both these 
accounts, a religion like Christianity involves the 
recognition of spiritual helps, as necessary to its 
proper reception ; and a reason is at once found 
for those frequent and strong declarations in which 
the inspired authors of Scripture set forth the ne- 
cessity of enlightenment from above. 

If we turn now to the writings of some modern 
divines, and meet therein with systematic endea- 
vours to methodize divine mysteries according to 
some preconceived system of morals ; or if, in the 
general style of their discourses, we find the strength 
and independence of the human mind perpetually 
insisted upon, to the exclusion of those humbling 
considerations founded on the doctrines of spiritual 
regeneration and sanctification,may we not properly 
regard such a school of theology as little calcu- 
lated to advance the cause of Christianity, or per- 
sonal holiness ? 

b 2 



XX 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



It so happens, however, that the circumstances 
under which the religious character of England 
has been formed, did at one period favour the tem- 
porary suppression of that species of Christian 
doctrine on which our earlier divines so eloquently 
and powerfully descanted. Enthusiasm does more 
indirect than direct harm : it makes the cautious 
err in their caution ; persuades reason into scepti- 
cism ; rejoices in its own warmth, till it draws the 
sources of vitality from all around ; and when the 
painful glare of its flame goes out, leaves men to 
believe that they are happier for the cold obscurity 
which follows. It was thus that the ill-judged se- 
verity of Puritan discipline, and the intemperance 
of spiritual zeal, led to that teaching of Christian 
morals without Christian doctrine, which for some 
time so greatly endangered the safety of our 
church. The effects of this have been long felt: 
the pious compiler of the Christian Philosophy 
saw and lamented them; and few more useful 
methods could be devised for the instruction of 
Christians in the knowledge of true doctrine than 
that which he pursued. Scripture is sufficient for 
those who will mark, learn, and, above all, inwardly 
digest : but while there are few who conscientious- 
ly devote themselves to this patient inquiry re- 
specting the real sense of God's word, there are. 
perhaps, still fewer who feel confident enough in 
their own steadiness of thought, or clearness of 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. " Xxi 

apprehension, to rest satisfied in their conclusions, 
till they find them confirmed by the testimony of 
more experienced students of heavenly myste- 
ries. To persons of this character — thoughtful, 
inquiring, but humble-minded Christians — it is 
equally consolatory and profitable to find a vast 
body of profound reasoners on the topics of theo- 
logy, confirming the opinion which they were led 
to form from the study of Scripture itself: they 
are encouraged thereby to further inquiries; an 
activity of mind is preserved, which both gladdens 
and sobers ; and while enthusiasm is kept far off, 
by the pure and healthy piety which delights only 
in truth, the heart is daily expanding with the in- 
creasing joy of higher and nobler convictions. 

Were Christianity a system which had been 
gradually evolved from successive events, and in 
such a manner that each of its parts, though form- 
ing a beautiful whole, might be easily separated, 
and exhibited in distinct perfection, far less dili- 
gence would be necessary in the study of the 
system than is now the case. The first lesson 
which Christ taught had respect to the full and 
complete spirituality of his religion. ' Verily, 
verily I say unto you, except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God and the means 
whereby the great change here alluded to was to 
be effected, are described in his later discourses, 



XXil 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



with a particularity the most solemn and impres- 
sive : — f I will not leave you comfortless : I will 
send you another comforter, that he may abide 
with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom 
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, 
neither knoweth him.' And the infinite import- 
ance of this promise is most strikingly demon- 
strated by the fact, that its fulfilment was the 
highest step in that climax of mysteries and mer- 
cies which compose the dispensation of the New 
Testament. 

The work which these reflections are intended to 
introduce to the Christian reader, affords satis- 
factory evidence that the most comforting and 
important truths of the gospel are established on a 
basis of unanswerable argument. That it has some 
defects may be allowed, without greatly derogating 
from its general claim to usefulness. The circum- 
stance that an estimable and learned divine was to 
have ushered the present edition into the world, 
but found himself unable to fulfil his design, pre- 
vented the writer of this essay from paying so 
early an attention to the work as would other- 
wise have been the case. He is happy, however, 
in having had the opportunity of speaking a few 
words on those points which it is the object of the 
publication to illustrate and enforce ; being deeply 
persuaded that every age requires to be warned 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XX111 

against that worldliness of thought and spirit, which 
assails Christianity on all sides, but more espe- 
cially on that, wherein it exhibits the necessity of 
spiritual sanctification and spiritual mindedness. 



June 24, 1835. 



H. S. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



CONTENTS. 



Sect. Page, 

Author's Preface .... xxxiii 

1. Introductory . . . . . 1 

2. On the sort of Evidence chiefly recommended and at- 

tempted to be displayed in this Treatise . .14 

3. On the Prejudices entertained against this sort of Evi- 

dence, and against all divine and supernatural Influ- 
ence on the Mind of Man . . . .19 

4. The proper Evidence of the Christian Religion is the 

Illumination of the Holy Ghost, shining into the 
Hearts of those who do not close them against its 
entrance. The opinion of Dr. Gloucester Ridley 
cited . . . . . .24 

5. The true and only convincing Evidence of the Reli- 

gion of Christ, or the illumination of the Holy 
Ghost is offered to all . . . .28 

6. Opinions of Bishop Taylor respecting the Evidence of 

the Holy Spirit ; " showing," as he expresses it, 
" how the Scholars of the University shall become 
most learned and most useful" . . .32 

7. Passages from the celebrated Mr. John Smith, Fellow 

of Queen's College, Cambridge, corroborative of 
the opinion that the best Evidence of the Christian 
Religion arises from the energy of the Holy Spirit 41 

8. Dr. Isaac Barrow's opinion of the Evidence of Chris- 

tianity, afforded by the illuminating operation of the 
Holy Spirit ; and on the Holy Spirit in general . 44 



xxviii 



CONTENTS. 



Sect. Page 

9. Bishop Bull's opinion on the Evidence of the Spirit of 
God on the Mind of Man, and its union with it ; the 
loss of that Spirit by Adam's fall, and the recovery 
of it by Christ . . . . .51 

10. The opinions of Bishop Pearson and Doctor Scott, 

author of the Christian Life, and an Advocate for 
natural Religion, against spiritual Pretensions . 56 

1 1 . Opinion of Bishop Sanderson on the impossibility of 

becoming a Christian without supernatural assistance 59 

12. Bishop Smalridge on the absolute Necessity of Grace 62 

13. Human Learning highly useful, and to be pursued 

with all Diligence, but cannot, of itself, furnish 
Evidences of Christianity completely satisfactory, 
like those which the Heart of the good Christian 
feels from the divine influence : with the opinion of 
Doctor Isaac Watts . . . .69 

1 4. The opinion of Dr. Lucas, the celebrated author of a 

Treatise on " Happiness," concerning the Evidence 

of Christianity arising from Divine Communication. 78 

15. Passages from a well-known Book of an anonymous 

Author, entitled Inward Testimony . . 83 

16. Dr. Townson's Opinion on the Evidence which is in 

this Book recommended as superior to all other . 84 

17. Dr. Doddridge on the doctrine of Divine Influence . 88 

18. The Opinion of Soame Jenyns on the fundamental 

Principles of Christianity . . .91 

19. The opinion of Bishop Horsley on the prevalent neg- 

lect of teaching the peculiar doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, under the idea that moral duties constitute 
the whole or the better part of 'it. Among the pe- 
culiar doctrines is evidently included that of grace, 
which the Methodists inculcate, (as the bishop inti- 
mates,) not erroneously . . . .93 

20. The Church of England teaches the true Doctrine of 

Grace 99 

21. On the Means of obtaining the Evidence of Christianity, 

afforded by the Holy Spirit . . .104 



CONTENTS. 



xxxi 



Sect. Page. 

22. Temperance necessary to the reception and continuance 

of the Holy Spirit in the heart ; and consequently to 
the Evidence of Christianity afforded by Divine Il- 
lumination . . . . . 108 

23. On improving afflictions duly, as a Means of Grace 

and belief in the Gospel . . . .110 

24. On Devotion — a Means, as well as an Effect, of Grace 

— no sincere religion can subsist without it . .113 

25. On Divine Attraction . . .116 

26. On the Difficulties of the Scripture . . .119 

27. The Omnipresence of God a Doctrine universally al- 

lowed ; but how is God every where present but by 
his Spirit, which is the Holy Ghost ? . .122 

28. The Want of Faith could not be criminal, if it de- 

pended only on the understanding ; but Faith is a 
Virtue, because it originates from virtuous Dispo- 
sitions favoured by the Holy Spirit . .126 

29. Of the Scriptural Word c Unction its high myste- 

rious Meaning . . . .128 

30. On what is called by devout persons Experience in Re- 

ligion . . . . .130 

31. On the Seasons of Grace . . » ..' .. 135 

32. Of mistaking the Effects of Imagination for the Seasons 

of Grace . . . .137 

33. Of Seasons of Desertion or supposed Absence of the 

Spirit . . . . .140 

34. Of the Doctrine that the Operations of the Holy Spirit 

are never distinguishable from the operations of our 
own Minds . . . .142 

35. Of Devotional Feelings or Sentiments . .146 

36. Of Enthusiasm . . . .149 

37. Cautions concerning Enthusiasm . . .154 

38. Of being Righteous overmuch • . .158 

39. All extravagant and selfish Pretensions to the Spirit to 

be anxiously avoided, as they proceed from and 
cherish Pride, and are frequently accompanied with 
Immorality . . . . .163 



XXX 



CONTENTS. 



Sect. Page. 

40. Affected Sanctity, Demureness, Canting, Sourness, 

Censoriousness, ignorant and illiterate Preaching, 
no marks of a State of Grace, but contribute to 
bring the whole Doctrine of Divine Energy into 
contempt, and to diffuse Infidelity . .166 

41. Bishop Lavington's Opinion, respecting the Extrava- 

gancies and Follies of fanatical Preachers, and Pre- 
tenders to the Spirit . . . .170 

42. Pride the great Obstacle to the general Reception of 

the Gospel of Grace . . . .172 

43. The universal Prevalence of the Holy Spirit — the ge- 

nuine Grace of the Gospel — highly conducive to 
the happiness of civil Society, as well as of Indivi- 
duals . . . . .176 

44. Of Holiness — its true Meaning and absolute Necessity 180 

45. Of a good Heart . . . .184 

46. On the superior Morality of the Christian Philosophy 188 

47. The true Genius and Spirit of Christianity productive 

of a certain tenderness of Conscience, or feeling of 
Rectitude, more favourable to right Conduct, than 
any Deductions of unassisted Reason or heathen 
Morality . . . . .191 

48. The great Advantage of Christian Philosophy being 

taught by a commanding authority . .194 

49. Morality, or obedience to the Commandments of God 

in social Intercourse and Personal Conduct, re- 
markably insisted upon in the Gospel . .199 

50. Unbelievers not to be addressed merely with subtle 

Reasoning, which they always oppose in its own 
way, not to be ridiculed, not to be treated with seve- 
rity, but to be tenderly and affectionately exhorted 
to prepare their hearts for the reception of the in- 
ward Witness, and to relume the Light of Life, 
which they have extinguished, or rendered faint, 
through Pride, Vice, or total Neglect . .201 

51. Of the inadequate idea entertained by many respect- 

able persons concerning Christianity ; with a sug- 



CONTENTS. XXXi 

Sect. Page. 

gestion on the expediency of their considering the 
true nature of Christian Philosophy . . 205 



52. On Indifference and Insensibility to religion, arising 

from hardness of heart. No progress can be made 
in Christian Philosophy in such a state, as it is a 
state incompatible with the Divine Influence . . 208 

53. Self-Examination recommended respecting religious 

Insensibility . . • . .212 

54. The Sum and Substance of Christian Philosophy — the 

renewal of the heart by Divine Grace ; or the soft- 
ening it and rendering it susceptible of virtuous and 
benevolent impressions, by cultivating the two grand 
Principles — Piety to God and Charity to Man .216 

55. On Spiritual Slumber, as described in the Scriptures, 

and the necessity of being awakened . .219 

56. On the Peace of God, that calm and composed State, 

which is produced by the Christian Philosophy, and 
is unknown to the Epicurean, Stoic, and all other 
Philosophy, ancient and modern . . 235 

57. General Reflections on Happiness— Errors in the pur- 

suit of it — No sublunary happiness perfect — Christ's 
Invitation to the wretched — Christian Philosophy 
affords the highest earthly Satisfaction — Its Summum 
Bonum is a State of Grace, or the Enjoyment of 
divine Favour . . . . 249 

58. Apologetical Conclusion; with a Recapitulation, and 

Addition of a few Particulars respecting the pre- 
ceding Subjects . ... 259 



THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE, 



As every attempt to illustrate and recommend such 
opinions on religion, as oppose pride and prejudice, 
is peculiarly obnoxious to the misconceptions of 
the ignorant, the misrepresentation of the male- 
volent, and the rash censure of the thoughtless, 
(who rudely and hastily condemn what they 
scarcely allow themselves even time to under- 
stand,) I think it proper to entreat all who honour 
this book with any degree of their attention, duly 
to consider the authorities, human as well as Scrip- 
tural, on which it is founded, and not to reject 
doctrines in which their own happiness is most 
deeply concerned, till they shall have invalidated 
those authorities, and proved themselves superior 
in sagacity, learning, and piety, to th« great men 
whose sentiments I have cited in support of my 
own. Let the firm phalanx of surrounding autho- 
rities be first fairly routed, before the ■• opponents 
level their arrows, even bitter words, at a book 
which enforces a doctrine, unfashionable, indeed, 
but certainly the doctrine of the gospel. 

There is no doubt but that my subject is the 
most momentous which can fall under the contem- 
plation of a human being ; and I therefore claim 



xxxiv 



THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



for it, as the happiness of mankind is at stake, a 
dispassionate and unprejudiced attention. 

The moral world, as well as the political, appears, 
at present, to be greatly out of order. Moral and 
political confusion, indeed, naturally produce each 
other. Let all who love their species, or their coun- 
try, calmly consider whether the neglect or rejec- 
tion of Christianity may not be the real cause of 
both : and let those who are thus persuaded, co- 
operate with every attempt to revive and diffuse 
the true spirit of the gospel. * Let us meekly in- 
struct those that oppose themselves/ 1 (if God, per- 
adventure, will give them repentance to the ac- 
. knowledging of the truth,) ' not being overcome of 
evil, but overcoming evil with good.' 2 

Nor let a private clergyman, however inconsider- 
able, be thought to step out of his province, in 
thus endeavouring to tranquillize the tumult of the 
world, by calling the attention of erring and 
wretched mortals to the gospel of peace. He is 
justified, not only by the general principles of huma- 
nity, but by the particular command of the religion 
of which he is a minister. Thus saith the apostle, 
in a charge which may be considered as generally 
addressed to all preachers of the gospel : — 

' Feed the flock of God, as much as lieth in you, 
taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but 
willingness; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready 
mind.' 3 ' Take heed to all the flock, over the which 
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed 



1 2 Tim. ii. 25. 1 Romans, xii. 21. 



3 1 Pet. v. 2. 



THE AUTHORS PREFACE, 



XXXV 



the church of God, which he hath purchased with 
his own blood/ 1 

This I have humbly attempted ; and in imitation 
of a most excellent prelate/ I have adapted my 
book to all ; yet various parts of it more particu- 
larly to various descriptions of men ; some to the 
great, some to the learned, but the greater part to 
the people : remembering the apostles example, 
who says, ' To the weak became I as weak, that I 
might gain the weak : I am made all things to all 
men, that I might by all means save some; and 
this I do for the gospels sake, that I might be a 
partaker thereof with you/ 3 

And now, readers, before you proceed any further, 
let me be permitted to say to you, ' The grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you,' in 
your progress through this book, and also througb 
life, even to its close. 

1 Acts, xx. 28. 

2 Bishop Sanderson, who preached in an appropriate manner, 
ad aulam, ad clerum, ad populum,—$ee the titles of his sermons. 

3 1 Cor. ix. 22. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION I. 

Cupiraus enim investigare quid verum sit ; neque id solum, 
sed quod cum veritate, pietatem quoque prseterea erga Deum 
habeat conjunctam. 1 — Sadolet. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

I enter on the subject of this volume with unaf- 
fected diffidence. I tread on holy ground with 
awe. Though much of my life, devoted to letters 
from the earliest age, has been spent in reading the 
best writers on the Christian doctrine, and more in 
contemplation of it, yet a sense of its high import- 
ance, and of my own fallibility, has long restrained 
the impulse which prompted me to engage in its 
public discussion. Nothing but conscious recti- 
tude of intention, co-operating with the hope of 
obtaining the aid of God's Holy Spirit, and the 
reader's indulgence, could animate the tremulous 
mind in an enterprize to which it feels and avows 
itself unequal. A conviction that the subject is 
peculiarly seasonable, has contributed to overcome 

1 <( It is my object to inquire what is true ; but not to acquiesce 
merely in the discovery of speculative truth ; but to find out 
that doctrine, which, together with truth, unites fious affections 
to God." 

B 



2 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



reluctance. The times indeed appear to me to call 
upon every professor of Christianity to vindicate, 
in the mannner best adapted to his abilities and 
opportunities, its controverted truth, its insulted 
honour; and if I shall be fortunate enough to 
communicate one suggestion to the wavering mind, 
which may conduce to this great purpose, my la- 
bour will not be in vain, nor my undertaking 
deemed rashly adventurous. I shall have accom- 
plished my wish. To diffuse the sunshine of re- 
ligious hope and confidence over the shadowy path 
of life ; to dissipate the gloom of doubt and de- 
spair; to save a soul from death; objects so de- 
sirable, inspire an ardour which enables zeal to 
triumph over timidity. 

That unbelief in Christ is increasing in the 
present age, and that the spirit of the times is 
rather favourable to its increase, has been asserted 
by high authority, and is too notorious to ad- 
mit denial. The apostacy of a great nation, in 
the most enlightened and polished part of Eu- 
rope; the public unblushing avowal of atheism, 
among some of its leaders; the multiplication of 
books on the continent, in which Christianity is 
treated as a mere mode of fanaticism ; all these 
circumstances have combined, with others, to cause 
not only an indifference to the religion of Christ, 
but contempt and aversion to his very name. It 
were easy to cite contumelious reproaches of hib 
person, as well as audacious denials of his claim to 
divine authority. But I will not pollute my page, 
which, however it may be deformed by error, shall 
not be stained with the transfusion of blasphemy. 
It is to be wished that all such works could be 
consigned to immediate and everlasting oblivion ; 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



3 



but I am sorry to say, that they are diffused with 
an industry, which, if it appeared in making prose- 
lytes to virtue, would be in the highest degree 
meritorious. Almost every individual in our own 
country can now read ; and manuals of infidelity, 
replete with plausible arguments, in language level 
to the lowest classes, are circulated among the peo- 
ple, at a price which places them within reach of 
the poorest reader. They are despised by the rich, 
and neglected by the learned, but they fall into 
the hands of the poor, to whom any thing in print 
bears the stamp of authority. At the same time, 
it must be lamented that there are treatises of a 
higher order, on the side of infidelity, which come 
recommended to the superior ranks, to men of 
knowledge and education, with all the charms of 
wit and elegance. 

But it cannot be said that the apologists and de- 
fenders of Christianity, in our country, have been 
few, or unfurnished with abilities natural and ac- 
quired. Great have been the efforts of our pro- 
foundest scholars, both professional divines and 
laymen, in maintaining the cause of Christianity, 
and repelling by argument, by ridicule, by invec- 
tive, by erudition, the assaults of the infidel. But 
what shall we say ? Notwithstanding their stupend- 
ous labours, continued with little intermission, the 
great cause which they maintained, is evidently, at 
this moment, on the decline. Though many of 
them, not contented with persuasion and argu- 
ment, have professed to demonstrate the truth of 
the Christian religion, it is certain that a very 
great number of men in Christian countries con- 
tinue unpersuaded, unconvinced, and totally blind 
to their demonstration. Such being the case, after 

b 2 



4 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



all their voluminous productions, is it not fair to 
conclude that their modes of defence, however 
celebrated, are either erroneous or defective ? Had 
their success been equal to their labours and pre- 
tensions, infidelity must now have been utterly ex- 
terminated. 

I feel a sincere respect for the learned labours 
of theologists, the subtlety of schoolmen, the eru- 
dition of critics, the ingenuity of controversialists ; 
but I cannot help thinking that their productions 
have contributed rather to the amusement of re- 
cluse scholars already persuaded of Christianity, 
than to the conversion of the infidel, the instruc- 
tion of the people. It appears to me, that some 
of the most elaborate of the writings in defence of 
Christianity are too cold in their manner, too me- 
taphysical or abstruse in their arguments, too 
little animated with the spirit of piety, to produce 
any great or durable effect on the heart of man, 
formed as he is, not only with intellectual powers, 
but with fine feelings and a glowing imagination. 
They touch not the trembling fibres of sensibility. 
They are insipid to the palate of the people. 
They have no attractions for the poor, the great 
multitude to whom the gospel was particularly 
preached. They are scarcely intelligible but to 
scholars in their closets, and while they amuse, 
without convincing the understanding, they leave 
the most susceptible part of man, his bosom, un- 
affected. The busy world, eager in pursuit of 
wealth, honour, pleasure, pays them no regard ; 
though they are the very persons whose attention 
to religion, which they are too apt to forget en- 
tirely, ought chiefly to be solicited. The acade- 
mic recluse, the theologist by profession, may read 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



5 



them as a task or as an amusement ; but he consi- 
ders them as works of erudition and exercises of 
ingenuity, claiming great praise as the product of 
literary leisure, but little adapted to impress the 
heart, or convert the infidel and the profligate. 
The people are erring and straying like lost sheep, 
but in these calls they cannot recognize the voice 
of the shepherd. Such works indeed seldom reach 
the people ; and while they are celebrated in aca- 
demic cloisters, their very existence is unknown 
among the haunts of men, in the busy hum of 
cities ; where it is most desirable that they should 
be known, because there the great majority of 
human creatures is assembled, and there also the 
poison of temptation chiefly requires the antidote 
of religion. What avails it that defences of Chris- 
tianity are very learned and very subtle, if they 
are so dry and unaffecting as to be confined in 
their effects to sequestered scholars, far removed 
from the active world, and probably so firmly set- 
tled in the faith, as to require no new persuasives, 
no additional proofs to render them faithful fol- 
lowers of Jesus Christ. 

Apologies and attacks of this kind have very 
little effect in silencing infidel writers, or changing 
their opinions. They frequently furnish fresh 
matter for dispute, and indeed put arms into the 
hands of the enemy. By provoking discussion on 
points which were at rest, they raise sophistry 
from its slumbers, and blow the trumpet of con- 
troversial wars, which do great mischief before the 
re-establishment of peace. In the issue, the con- 
tending parties are silenced rather from weariness 
in the contest, than from conviction ; and Te Deum, 
as is usual in other wars, is sung by those who are 



6 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



said to be vanquished, as well as those who claim 
the honour of undisputed victory. 

Thus it has happened that the writings of men, 
no less benevolent in their intentions than able in 
their exertions, have sometimes not only done no 
good to their cause, but great injury. They have 
revived old cavils and objections, or invented new, 
in order to display ingenuity in refuting them ; 
cavils and objections which have frequently been 
answered, or which might never have occurred ; 
but which, when once they have occurred, produce 
suspicion and unsettled notions on topics never 
doubted, and among honest men whose faith was 
firmly established. Such conduct is like that of a 
physician, who should administer doses of arsenic 
to his patients, in order to prove to them, at their 
risk, the sovereign power of his nostrum. The 
venom, finding a constitution favourable to its 
operation, triumphantly prevails, and the preven- 
tive remedy cannot rescue the sufferer from his 
hapless fate. 

I am persuaded, that even a sensible, thinking, 
and learned man might live his whole life in piety 
and peace, without ever dreaming of those objec- 
tions to Christianity, which some of its most cele- 
brated defenders have collected together from all 
ages, and a great variety of neglected books, and 
then combined in a single portable volume, so as 
to render it a convenient synopsis of infidelity. 
What must be the consequence ? It must at least 
disturb the repose of the sensible, thinking, and 
learned man ; and if it should be read and under- 
stood by the simple, the unlearned, the unthink- 
ing, and the ill-disposed, T am of opinion that its 
objections would be studied, its solutions neglected ; 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



7 



and thus a very large number of recruits enlisted 
volunteers in the army of unbelievers. 

As an exemplification of what I have here ad- 
vanced, I mention in this place, Bishop Warbur- 
ton's View of Lord Bolingbroke's Philosophy. 
There the unbeliever sees the scattered arguments 
of scepticism and unbelief, all picked and culled 
for him, without any trouble of his own, and 
marked with inverted commas, so as to direct the 
eye, without loss of time, to their immediate peru- 
sal. The book becomes an anthologia of infi- 
delity. The flowers are gathered from the stalks, 
and conveniently tied up in a nosegay. The 
essence is extracted and put into a phial commodi- 
ous for the pocket, and fitted for hourly use. The 
late bishop Home, in his facetious Letters on 
Infidelity, has also collected passages from ob- 
scure books and pamphlets, and sent them abroad 
in such a manner as must of necessity cause them 
to be read and received, where they never would 
have found their way by their native force. These 
ingenious and well-meaning divines resuscitate 
the dead, and give life to the still-born or abortive 
offspring of dullness and malignity. I might men- 
tion many more instances of similar imprudence, 
in men of the deepest erudition and the sincerest 
piety ; but I am unwilling to follow their example, 
in pointing out to unbelievers compendiums, 
abridgments, and manuals of sceptical cavil. To 
say in their excuse that they refute those argu- 
ments which they insert so liberally from the wri- 
tings of the unbeliever, may prove our candour, 
but not our judgment or knowledge of human na- 
ture. Evil is learned sooner and remembered 
longer than good ; and it would be better to let 



s 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



many pamphlets of the deists sink into oblivion, 
than to preserve and extend them, by extracting 
their most noxious parts, and mixing them with 
the productions of men of learning and piety. 
The refutations are often long, laboured, and tedi- 
ous, while the objections are short and lively. 
They are therefore either not read or soon forgot- 
ten, while a flippant sarcasm attracts attention 
and fixes itself in the memory. It must also be 
allowed, that the refutations are too often unsatis- 
factory : and that the weakness of a defence in- 
vites new attacks, and gives fresh courage to the 
enemy. 

I think the style and manner of some among 
the celebrated defenders of Christianity extremely 
improper. It is not respectful, It treats Jesus 
Christ as if he were an inferior to the person who 
takes upon him to examine, as he phrases it, the 
pretensions of Jesus Christ. To speak in an au- 
thoritative, inquisitorial language of the author 
of that religion by which the writer himself pro- 
fesses to hope for salvation, can never serve the 
cause of Christianity. Think of a poor, frail, sin- 
ful mortal, sitting a self-appointed judge, and like 
a lawyer in a human court of judicature, arraigning 
Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, just as a venal soli- 
citor might have questioned the two thieves that 
were crucified with him, had they been accused at 
a modern police-office. The cold yet authoritative 
style of the tribunal has been much used in exam- 
ining, as it is called, that religion which brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel. 
You would think the learned theologist, who as- 
sumes the office of an examiner, another Pontius 
Pilate. He sits in the seat of judgment, and with 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



9 



judicial importance coldly pronounces on the words 
and actions of that Saviour, whom he owns to be 
the great Captain of Salvation. 

In such defences or examinations, Jesus Christ 
is spoken of in terms that must divest him of his 
glory, and therefore villify him in the eyes of the 
gainsayers, and all unthinking people. But how, 
on the contrary, do the prophets represent him ? 
Language has no terms of magnificence adequate 
to his dignity. 

The prophets describe Jesus Christ as the most 
august personage which it is possible to con- 
ceive. They speak of him indeed as the seed of 
6 the woman' and the ' Son of man but at the 
same time describe him of celestial race. They 
announce him as a being exalted above men and 
angels ; above ' all principality and power ; as the 
Word and the Wisdom of God ; as the eternal Son 
of the Father ; as the Heir of all things, by whom 
God made the worlds ; as the brightness of God's 
glory, the express image of his person.' 

Thus speak the prophets of our Lord and Savi- 
our Jesus Christ. Now let us hear an ingenious 
apologist and defender of him and his religion. A 
reverend author, highly estimable for his learning 
and ingenuity, and whom I sincerely esteem, 
speaking of Jesus Christ, in a book professedly 
written to vindicate his truth and honour, repeat- 
edly calls him " a Jewish peasant/' and a 66 peasant 
of Galilee." For what are we comparing ? says he, 
(in a comparison of Jesus Christ with Mahomet,) 
" a Galilean peasant, accompanied with a few 
fishermen, with a conqueror at the head of his 
army;" and again, in the next page, "a Jewish 
peasant overthrew the religion of the world," 



10 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY- 



Unbelievers are commonly men of the world ; 
fascinated by its pomps and vanities. Is it the 
most likely means to overcome their prejudices, 
and teach them to bow the knee to Jesus, thus to 
lower his personal dignity ? Was there any occa- 
sion for it P Do not the prophets, as I have just 
now observed, exalt him above every name ? Why 
call him peasant ? The term I think by no means 
appropriate to him, supposing that it were not an 
injudicious degradation of his character in the eyes 
of unthinking worldlings, and malignant unbe- 
lievers. There is something peculiarly disgusting 
in hearing dignified ecclesiastics, living in splen- 
dour and affluence entirely in consequence of the 
religion of Jesus Christ, speaking of him in their 
defences of his religion, as a peasant, as a person 
compared to themselves vile and despicable. Such 
arguments as this appellation is meant to support, 
will never render service to Christianity. The re- 
presentation becomes a stumbling-block, and a rock 
of offence. I might however produce several other 
instances of great writers who have afforded prece- 
dents for such degrading appellations of Jesus 
Christ. But neither the infidel nor the Christian 
will easily believe, that the man who calls his 
Saviour a peasant, after the glorious representa- 
tions of him which the prophets give, feels that 
awe and veneration which is due to the Son of 
God, the Lord of life, the Saviour and Redeemer. 
I forbear to specify them. One instance is suffi- 
cient to point out my meaning, and show the rea- 
son why some ingenious apologies for Christianity 
are totally ineffectual. 

Dry argumentation and dull disquisition unani- 
mated by the spirit of piety and devotion, will 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



11 



never avail to convert unbelievers, and to diffuse 
the doctrines of Christianity. Life, death, heaven, 
and hell, are subjects of too much importance to 
be treated by a sincere mind, duly impressed by 
them, with the coolness of a lawyer giving an 
opinion on a statute or case, in which another's 
property or privileges are concerned. The spirit 
of piety seems to have been wanting in some of 
the most logical and metaphysical defenders of 
Christianity. They speak of Christ, when they 
are examining the truth of the doctrine, with calm 
indifference, as if they were dull virtuosos discuss- 
ing the genuineness of a medal, or the authenticity 
of a manuscript, valuable only as an amusing curi- 
osity. If St. Paul had been no warmer an advo- 
cate than certain famous apologists for Christ's 
doctrine, he would never have prevailed with the 
Gentiles to relinquish their polytheism, and we 
of this island should, at this clay, have remained 
in the darkness of idolatry. Without the spirit 
of piety, all proofs and defences of Christianity 
are a dead letter. The multitude will not even 
read them ; and infidels, if they do not despise 
them too much to attend to them at all, will 
only read to find fresh matter for cavil and objec- 
tion. 

I may be wrong in my theory. I therefore ap- 
peal to fact. The fact is evident, that, notwith- 
standing all that has been written to demonstrate 
Christianity, by argument drawn from reasoning 
and history, infidelity has increased, and is every 
day increasing more and more. Let those who 
think the dry argumentative apologies irresistibly 
convincing, now bring them forward, and silence 
the gainsayers at once. The demonstrations of a 



12 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Huet, the evidences of a Clarke, the reasonings of 
a Locke, a Grotius, a Hartley, should be presented 
in the most striking manner, by public authority; 
and if they are really efficacious in producing con- 
viction, we may be assured that infidelity will 
vanish at their appearance, like the mists of an 
autumnal morning, when the meridian sun breaks 
forth in full splendour. But the truth is, they are 
already very much diffused, and yet the Christian 
religion is said to be rapidly on the decline. 

Therefore it cannot be blameable to attempt 
some other method of calling back the attention 
of erring mortals to the momentous truths of re- 
velation. 

I have conceived an idea that our old English 
divines were great adepts in genuine Christianity, 
and that their method of recommending it was 
judicious, because I know it was successful. There 
was much more piety in the last century than in 
the present ; and there is every reason to be- 
lieve that infidelity was rare. Bishop Hall ap- 
pears to me to have been animated with the true 
spirit of Christianity ; and I beg leave to convey 
my own ideas on the best method of diffusing that 
spirit, in his pleasingly-pious and simple lan- 
guage. 

" There is not," says the venerable prelate, u so 
much need of learning as of grace to apprehend 
those things which concern our everlasting peace ; 
neither is it our brain that must be set to work, 
but our hearts. However excellent the use of 
scholarship in all the sacred employments of divi- 
nity ; yet, in the main act, which imports salva- 
tion, skill must give place to affection. Happy is 
the soul that is possessed of Christ, how poor soever 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



13 



in all inferior endowments. Ye are wide, O ye 
great wits, while ye spend yourselves in curious 
questions and learned extravagances. Ye shall find 
one touch of Christ more worth to your souls, than 
all your deep and laborious disquisitions. In vain 
shall ye seek for this in your books, if you miss it 
in your bosoms. If you know all things, and can- 
not say ' I know whom I have believed,' you have 
but knowledge enough to know yourselves com- 
pletely miserable. The deep mysteries of godli- 
ness, which, to the great clerks of the world, are as 
a book clasped and sealed up, lie open before him, 
(the pious and devout man,) fair and legible ; and 
while those book-men know whom they have heard 
of, ' he knows whom he hath believed.' " 

Christianity indeed, like the sun, discovers itself 
by its own lustre. It shines with unborrowed light 
on the devout heart. It wants little external proof, 
but carries its own evidence to him that is regene- 
rate and born of the Spirit. " The truth of Chris- 
tianity," says a pious author/' is the Spirit of God 
living and working in it; and when this Spirit is 
not the life of it, there the outward form is but like 
the carcass of a departed soul." 

Divinity has certainly been confused and per- 
plexed by the learned. It requires to be disen- 
tangled and simplified. It appears to me to con- 
sist in this single point, the restoration of the 
divine life, the image of God, (lost and defaced at 
the fall,) by the operation of the Holy Ghost. 

When this is restored, every other advantage of 
Christianity follows in course. Pure morals are 
absolutely necessary to the reception of the Holy 
Ghost, and an unavoidable consequence of his con- 
tinuance. The attainment of grace is then the 



14 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



unum necessarium. It includes in it all gospel 
comfort, it teaches all virtue, and infallibly leads 
to light, life, and immortality. 



SECTION II. 

On the sort of Evidence chiefly recommended and 
attempted to be displayed in this Treatise, 

Quid est fideliter Christo credere ? Est fideliter Dei mandate 
servare. 1 — Salvian. de. Gub. lib. iii. 

I think it right to apprize my reader, on the very 
threshold, that if he expects a recapitulation of the 
external and historical evidence of Christianity, 
he will be disappointed. For all such evidence 
I must refer him to the great and illustrious names 
of voluminous theologists, who have filled with 
honour the professional chairs of universities, and 
splendidly adorned the annals of literature. I re- 
vere their virtuous characters ; I highly appreci- 
ate their learned labours ; I think the student who 
is abstracted from active life, and possesses leisure, 
may derive from them much amusement , while he 
increases his stores of critical erudition, and be- 
comes enabled to discourse or dispute on theology. 
But men, able to command their time, and com- 

1 u In what consists a faithful belief in Christ ? It consists 
in a faithful obedience to his commandments." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



15 



petently furnished with ability for deep and exten- 
sive investigation, are but a small number in the 
mass of mankind. That systematic or speculative 
treatise which may delight and instruct such men, 
in the cool shade of philosophical retirement, will 
have little effect on the minds of others who con- 
stitute the multitude of mortals eagerly engaged 
in providing for the wants of the passing day, or 
warmly contending for the glittering prizes of se- 
cular ambition. Indeed, I never heard that the 
laborious proofs of Christianity, in the historical 
and argumentative mode, ever converted any of 
those celebrated authors on the side of infidelity, 
who have, from time to time, spread an alarm 
through Christendom, and drawn forth the defen- 
sive pens of every church and university in Eu- 
rope. The infidel wits wrote on in the same cause; 
deriving fresh matter for cavil from the arguments 
of the defenders ; and re-assailing the citadel with 
the very balls hurled from its battlements in super- 
fluous profusion. 

What then, it may be justly asked, have I to 
offer ? What is the sort of evidence which I at- 
tempt to display ? It is an internal evidence of 
the truth of the gospel, consequent on obedience 
to its precepts. It is a sort of evidence, the mode 
of obtaining which is pointed out by Jesus Christ 
himself, in the following declaration : e If any man 
will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whe- 
ther it be of God/ 1 

But how shall he know ? By the illumination 
of the Holy Spirit of God, which is promised by 
Christ to those who do his will. 



1 John, vii. 17* 



16 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Therefore, if any man seriously and earnestly 
desires to become a Christian, let him begin, what- 
ever doubts he may entertain of the truth of Chris- 
tianity, by practising those moral virtues, and 
cultivating those amiable dispositions, which the 
written gospel plainly requires, and the grace of 
God will gradually remove the veil from his eyes 
and from his heart, so as to enable him to see and 
to love the things which belong to his peace, and 
which are revealed in the gospel only. Let him 
make the experiment and persevere. The result 
will be full of conviction that Christianity is true. 
The sanctifying Spirit will precede, and the illu- 
minating Spirit follow in consequence. 

I take it for granted, that God has given all men 
the means of knowing that which it imports all 
men to know ; but if, in order to gain the knowledge 
requisite to become a Christian, it is necessary to 
read such authors as Grotius, Limborch, Clarke, 
Lardner, or Warburton, how few, in the great 
mass of mankind, can possibly acquire that know- 
ledge and consequent faith which are necessary to 
their salvation ! 

But every human being is capable of the evi- 
dence which arises from the divine illumination. It 
is offered to all. And they who reject it, and seek 
only the evidence which human means afford, shut 
out the sun, and content themselves either with total 
darkness or the feeble light of a taper. 

" There is," (says the excellent bishop Sander- 
son,) " to the outward tender of grace in the mi- 
nistry of the gospel, annexed an inward offer of the 
same to the heart, by the Spirit of God going along 
with his word, which some of the schoolmen call 
auxilium gratia generate, sufficient of itself to 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



17 



convert the sou] of the hearer, if he do not resist 
the Holy Ghost, and reject the grace offered ; 
which, as it is grounded on these words, 6 Behold 
I stand at the door and knock/ and upon very 
many passages of Scripture beside, so it standeth 
with reason, that the offer, if accepted, should be 
sufficient, exparte sua, to do the work, which, if not 
accepted, is sufficient to leave the person, not ac- 
cepting the same, inexcusable. 

The outward testimony to the truth of the gos- 
pel is certainly a very strong one ; but yet it is 
found insufficient without the inward testimony, 
The best understandings have remained uncon- 
vinced by the outward testimony ; while the mean- 
est have been fully persuaded by the co-operation 
of the inward, the divine irradiation of the Holy 
Ghost shining upon, and giving lustre to the letter 
of revelation. 

But because the doctrine of divine influence on 
the human mind is obnoxious to obloquy, I think 
it necessary to support it by the authority of some 
of the best men and soundest divines of this na- 
tion. Such are the prejudices entertained by many 
against the doctrine of divine influence and the 
witness of the Spirit, that I cannot proceed a step 
further, with hope of success, till I have laid be- 
fore my reader several passages in confirmation of 
it, from the writings of men who were the orna- 
ments of their times, and who are at this day es- 
teemed no less for their orthodoxy and powers of 
reason than their eloquence. I make no apology 
to my reader for the length of the quotations from 
them, because I am sure he will be a gainer, if I 
keep silence that they may be heard in the inter- 
val. My object is to re-establish a declining 

c 



IS 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



opinion, which I think not only true, but of prime 
importance. T therefore withdraw myself occa- 
sionally, that I may introduce those advocates for 
it, whose very names must command attention. If 
I can but be instrumental in reviving the true 
spirit of Christianity, by citing- their authority,, 
theirs be the praise, and mine the humble office of 
recommending and extending their salutary doc- 
trine. 

" And if it shall be asked (to express myself 
nearly in the words of archbishop Wake) why I 
so often choose the drudgery of a transcriber, the 
reason is shortly this : I hoped that quotations 
from departed writers, of great and deserved fame, 
would find a more general and unprejudiced ac- 
ceptance with all sorts of men, than any thing that 
could be written by any one now living, who, if 
esteemed by some, is yet in danger of being de- 
spised by more; whose prejudice to his person 
will not suffer them to reap any benefit by any 
thing, however useful, that can come from him; 
while such passages as these which I cite, must ex- 
cite respect and attention, unmixed (as the authors 
are dead) with any malignant sentiment or prepos- 
session against them, such as might close the eyes 
of the understanding against the radiance 6f 
truth." 1 

1 The following text may, I think, confirm the opinion ad- 
vanced in this Section, that the best evidence will arise from obe- 
dience : " And we are his witnesses of these things ; and so is alsu 
the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.*' — 
Acts. v. 37. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



19 



SECTION III. 

On the Prejudices entertained against this sort of 
Evidence, and against atl divine and supernatural 
Influence on the Mind of Man. 

Since the time of archbishop Laud, the most cele- 
brated defenders of Christianity have thought it 
proper to expatiate, with peculiar zeal, on the 
excellence of natural religion. They probably 
had reasons for their conduct; but it must not be 
dissembled, that in extolling natural religion they 
have appeared to depreciate or supersede revela- 
tion. The doctrine of supernatural assistance, the 
great privilege of Christianity, has been very little 
enforced by them, and indeed rather discounte- 
nanced, as savouring of enthusiasm, and claiming, 
if true, a decided superiority over their favourite 
religion of nature. 

Upon this subject, a very sensible writer thus 
expresses his opinion : 

" Towards making and forming a Christian, if 
supernatural assistance of the divine Spirit was 
necessary at the beginning of the gospel, I do 
not see what should render it less necessary at 
any time since, nor why it may not be expected 
now. Human learning and human wisdom have 
rashly and vainly usurped the place of it. 

" It is observable that these old principles are 
still to be found among dissenters, in a good mea- 
sure, which is the reason why their opponents have 
dropped the use of them. 

" As these doctrines were the principles and 

c 2 



20 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



language of the dissenters, and others, who fol- 
lowed the standard of the parliament against king 
Charles the First, though they were not the par- 
ticular motives of the war, nor could contract any 
just blame from the unhappy issue of that war; 
yet at the restoration of king Charles the Second, 
the resentment which took place against the per- 
sons of the dissenters, and ran high, I apprehend, 
led the church clergy not only to be angry with the 
men, but to forsake their principles too, though 
right and innocent in themselves, and aforetime 
held in common among all Protestants." 

This, the author thinks, gave rise to the excessive 
zeal for enforcing natural religion, and for mere 
moral preaching, to the exclusion of the distin- 
guishing doctrines of Christ, and particularly 
those sublime mysteries respecting the operation 
of the Holy Ghost, the very life and soul of Chris- 
tianity. 

" Every thing," says he, " besides morality be- 
gan, from that time, to be branded with the odious 
term of enthusiasm and hypocrisy. That the cause 
of religion (observes the same writer) has declined 
for many years, every person appears sensible. 
Among the various reasons assigned for it, the 
principal, in my opinion, is, that the established 
ministers have suffered it to die in their own hands, 
by departing from the old method of preaching, 
and from their first and original tenets ; which has 
given countenance to what is called natural reli- 
gion, in such a measure, as to shut out revealed 
religion, and supersede the gospel. 

" It is in vain to cry out against deists and infi- 
dels, when the Protestant watchmen have deserted 
their post, and themselves have opened a gap for 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



21 



the enemy. Learning and oratory, it must be 
owned, are arrived at great perfection, but our true 
old divinity is gone. Amid these splendid trifles, 
the gospel is really lost." 1 

It is certain, that the profligate court of Charles 
the Second, in its endeavours to discredit the dis- 
senters, many of whom were admirable scholars 
and divines, as well as holy and exemplary men 
in private life, contributed much to explode all 
doctrines concerning the Spirit. Unfortunately, 
those clergymen who wished to be favoured at 
court, too easily conformed their doctrines to its 
wishes; and arguments from the pulpit united 
with sarcasms from the seat of the scorner, to renV 
der all who maintained the doctrine of grace sus- 
pected of enthusiasm and hypocrisy. Ridicule, in 
the hands of the author of Hudibras, though in- 
tended only to serve political purposes, became a 
weapon that wounded religion in its vitals. 

The sect of Christians denominated Quakers, 
certainly entertain many right notions respecting 
Divine influence: and therefore, as the Quakers 
were disliked by the church, the doctrines which 
they maintained were to be treated with contempt. 
The Spirit, whose operations they justly maintain, 
became, under the direction of worldly policy, a 
word of reproach to them. Consequently, aspiring 
clergymen, wishing to avoid every doctrine which 
could retard their advancement, or fix a stigma of 
heterodoxy upon them, were very little inclined to 
preach the necessity of divine illumination. They 
feared the opprobious names of enthusiasts or hy- 



1 See a letter signed c Paulinus,' published in 1735. 



22 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



pocrites, and so became ashamed of the gospel of 
C hrist. 

In process of time, arose the sect of the Metho- 
dists; who, however they may be mistaken in 
some points, are certainly orthodox in their opinions 
of the divine agency on the human soul. They 
found it in the Scriptures, in the liturgy, in the 
articles, and they preached it with a zeal which to 
many appeared intemperate, and certainly was 
sometimes too little guided by discretion. The 
consequence was, that the spiritual doctrines, 
already vilified by the court of Charles the Second, 
and by the adversaries of the Quakers, became ob- 
jects of general dislike and derision. 

In the meantime, the gospel of Jesus Christ suf- 
fered by its professed friends, as well as declared 
enemies. Regular divines of great virtue, learn- 
ing, and true piety, feared to preach the Holy 
Ghost and its operations, the main doctrine of the 
gospel, lest they should countenance the Puritan, 
the Quaker, or the Methodist, and lose the esteem 
of their own order, or of the higher powers. They 
often contented themselves, during a long life, 
with preaching morality only ; which, without 
the Spirit of Christianity, is like a beautiful sta- 
tue from the hand of a Bacon ; however graceful 
its symmetry, and polished its materials, yet want- 
ing the breath of life, it is still but a block of 
marble. 

These prejudices remaining at this day, I have 
thought it right to recommend the sort of evidence 
which this book attempts to display, by citing the 
authority of great divines, who, uninfluenced by 
secular hopes or fears, have borne witness to the 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



truth as it is in Jesus. They are among the most 
celebrated theologists of this nation ; and such as 
few am on 2: living or recent writers will presume 
to vie with, in extent of knowledge, in power of 
expression, and zeal for Christianity. 

Bitter is the anger of controversialists in divi- 
nity. Arrows dipt in venom are usually hurled 
at a writer, who ventures to recommend a doc- 
trine which they disapprove. I must seek shelter 
under the shields of such men as Bishop Taylor, 
Doctor Isaac Barrow, and others, in and out of the 
establishment, who fought a good fight, and kept 
the faith, having no regard to worldly and sinister 
motives, but faithfully endeavouring to lead those, 
over whom they were appointed guides, by the 
radiance of gospel light, from the shadowy mazes 
of error, into the pleasant paths of piety and 
peace. 

Whatever obloquy may follow the teaching of 
such doctrine, I shall incur it with alacrity, be- 
cause I believe it to be the truth, and that the hap- 
piness of human nature is highly concerned in its 
general reception. I will humbly say, therefore, 
with St; Paul, ' I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ Jesus, for it is the power of God unto sal- 
vation.' 1 

And as to those who deny the doctrine of di- 
vine influence, I fear they are guilty of blasphemy 
against the Holy Ghost. I speak diffidently, as 
it becomes every mortal, on a subject so momen- 
tous ; but let those who are eager to deny and 
even deride the doctrine, consider duly what is 
meant by the sin against the Holy Ghost, and let 



1 Rom. i. 16. 



24 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



them remember this tremendous declaration of 
our Saviour himself, that ' Blasphemy against the 
Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven.' 1 All other 
sins, we are expressly told, may be remitted, but 
on this the gates of mercy are closed. The denial 
of the Spirit's energy renders the gospel of no effect, 
extinguishes the living light of Jesus Christ, and 
involves wretched mortals in the darkness and 
death of Adam, fallen from the state of primitive 
perfection. It is represented as the greatest of 
all sins, because it is productive of the greatest 
misery. 



SECTION IV. 

The proper Evidence of the Christian Religion is the 
illumination of the Holy Ghost, shining into the 
hearts of those who do not close them against its 
entrance. The opinion of Dr. Gloucester Ridley 
cited. 

' None,' says St. Paul, ' can say Jesus is the Lord 
but by the Holy Ghost.' 2 If, then, St. Paul be 
allowed to have understood the Christian religion, 
it is certain, that mere human testimony will 
never convince the infidel, and produce that faith 
which constitutes the true Christian. Our theolo- 



1 Matt.xii. 31. 



? 1 Cor. xii. a 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



25 



gical libraries might be cleared of more than half 
their volumes, if men, seeking the evidence of 
Christianity, would be satisfied with the declara- 
ration of St. Paul, and of the great Author of our 
religion. 

There is a faith very common in the world, 
which teaches to believe, as an historical fact, that 
a person of the name of Jesus, a very good man, 
did live on earth, and that he preached and taught, 
under the direction of God, or divine Providence, 
an excellent system of morality ; such as, if duly 
observed, would contribute to their happiness, 
and recommend them to divine favour. But this 
kind of faith is not the right faith ; it believes 
not enough, it is not given by the Holy Ghost ; 
for he, in whom God dwelleth, confesseth that 
Jesus is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the 
world ; 1 but they who acknowledge Jesus only as 
a good man teaching morality, know him not as a 
Saviour*. Socrates taught fine morality, and so 
did Seneca, Epictetus, and many more ; but they 
had not, and could not teach the knowledge which 
leadeth to salvation. 

" Illuminating grace," says Dr. Gloucester Rid- 
ley, " consists not in the assent we give to the his- 
tory of the gospel, as a narration of matters of 
fact, sufficiently supported by human evidence ; 
for this may be purely the effect of our study and 
learning. The collating of copies, the consulting 
of history, the comparing the assertions of friends, 
and the concessions of enemies, may necessitate^ 
such a belief, a faith which the devils may have, 

1 1 John,iv. 13, 14, 15. 

2 Hitiq ovk rj ysiviAarpiKaig avayicaiQ aW r\ tciiq tov 
TTvevfJLciTog evepyfiaig tyyivofjier}. Basil. — " The right 



26 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and doubtless have it. This sort of faith is an ac- 
quisition of our own, and not a gift. But f faith is 
the gift of God.' 

" There may be a faith," continues Dr. Ridley, 
" which is not the work of the Spirit in our hearts, 
but entirely the effect of human means, our na- 
tural faculties assisted by languages, antiquities, 
manuscripts, criticism, and the like, without any 
divine aid, except the bare letter of the revelation ; 
and as this faith may rise out of human abilities, so 
may it be attended with pride in our supposed 
accomplishments, envy of others' superior skill, 
and bitter strife against those who mistake or op- 
pose such truths ; and is therefore no manifestation 
of that Spirit which resisteth the proud, and dis- 
penses its graces only to the humble. This wisdom 
descendeth not from above. But the true saving 
faith, at the same time that it informs the under- 
standing, influences the will and affections; it en- 
lightens the eyes of the heart, 1 says the apostle : it 
is there, in the heart, that the Christian man be- 
lieveth ; and if ' thou believest with thine heart, 
thou shalt be saved;' 2 while infidelity proceedeth 
from an averseness of our affections, — c from an 
evil heart of unbelief.' 3 

Is it not therefore strange, that learned apolo- 
gists, well acquainted with Scripture, should, after 
reading these strong declarations, that the heart 

faith is not that which is forced by mathematical demonstration, 
whether we will or not ; but that which grows in the mind from 
the operation or energies of the Spirit." 

1 1 [t^ojTKTfievovQ tovq ocpOaXfuou^ rtj KanSiaQ. Ephesians, 
i. 1 8. — " Enlightening the eyes of the heart." Almost all the old 
MSS. read xapdiag, and not Siavoiag, as it stands in our printed 
copies. — See Mill's Lectiones Variantes. Ridley. 

2 Rom. x. 9. 3 Ueb. iii. 12. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



27 



must be impressed before faith can be fixed in it, 
studiously avoid every topic which addresses itself 
to the affections, and coldly apply themselves to 
the understanding, in a language and manner 
which might become a mathematical lecturer solv- 
ing a problem of Euclid. 

Infidelity is increasing, and will continue to in- 
crease, so long as divines decline the means of 
conversion and persuasion which the Scriptures of 
the New Testament declare to be the only effec- 
tual means ; so long as they have recourse to hu- 
man reason and human learning only, in which 
they will always find opponents very powerful. 
The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, 1 and then she 
attended to the things that were spoken of Paul. 
The Lord opens the hearts of all men at some pe- 
riod of their lives ; but the vanity of the world, 
the cares of gain, the pride of life, shut them again, 
and reject the Holy Ghost. Tt is the business of 
divines to dispose those who are thus unfortunate 
and unwise, to be ready to receive the divine guest, 
should he again knock at the door of their hearts; 
but in doing this, they must preach the true gos- 
pel, which is not a system of mere human morality 
or philosophy, but the doctrine of grace. 2 

1 Acts, xvi. 14. 

2 It must he tanght mediate per verbmn, immediate per spi- 
ritum. — "Mediately by the word ; immediately by the Spirit." 



28 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY, 



SECTION V. 

The true and only convincing Evidence of the Reli- 
gion of Christ, or the illumination of the Holy 
Ghost is offered to all. 

From the eternal Fountain of light, both natural 
and spiritual, there streams a light ' which light eth 
every one that cometh into the world.' Whoever 
loves that which is good and just and true, and 
desires to act a virtuous part in his place allotted 
to him in this world, whether high or low, may be 
assured of the blessing of heaven, displaying itself 
not perhaps in worldly riches or honours, but in 
something infinitely more valuable, — a secret in- 
fluence upon his heart and understanding, to direct 
his conduct, to improve his nature, and to lead 
him, though in the lowly vale, yet along the path 
of peace. 

The nature of all men was depraved by the fall 
of Adam. The assistance of Gods Holy Spirit 
was withdrawn. Christ came to restore that na- 
ture, and to bring down that assistance, and leave 
it as a gift, a legacy to all mankind after his depar- 
ture. 

' In Adam all die/ says St. Paul, ' but in Christ 
shall all be made alive. That is, in Adam all die 
a spiritual death, or lose the Paraclete, the particle 
of the divine nature, which was bestowed on man 
on his creation; and in Christ all are made alive, 
spiritually alive, or rendered capable, if they do 
not voluntarily choose darkness rather than light, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



29 



of the divine illumination of the Holy Ghost. The 
film is taken from the eyes of all, but the eyelids 
remain, which may be closed by voluntary con- 
nivance, or by wicked presumption. 

' I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.' 1 
* The grace which bringeth salvation hath ap- 
peared unto all men.' 'This is the light which 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' 
6 It is his will, that all men should be saved, and 
come to the knowledge of the truth.' ' Christ came 
to save sinners ; and we have before proved, both 
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.' 
6 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden.' ' He has propitiated for the sins of the 
whole world. His grace has been openly offered to 
all men in the gospel ' 2 

These passages, which no sophistry can elude, 
are sufficient to prove that the internal evidence of 
the gospel has a great advantage over the external, 
in the circumstance of its universality. All may 
be convinced by it who are willing. 3 But can this 
be said of dry, logical, systematic testimonies, 
which require learning, sagacity, and time to be 
comprehended ? Such testimonies are fit for few, 
and appear unlikely to produce vital religion in 
any. They serve men to talk about, they furnish 
matter for logomachy ; but they leave the heart 
unaffected. Neither Jesus Christ nor his apostles 
thought proper to address men systematically. 
And are critics, linguists, and logicians wiser than 

1 Joel, ii. 28. 

2 1 Tim. ii. 4; i. 15 ; Rom. iii. 9; Matt. ii. 28; 1 John, 
ii. 2 ; Tit. ii. 2. 

3 H fitv yap x a 9 l £ ei G n ANT AS £/c/c£%irat. Chrysostom in 
Joan. Horn. — "For grace indeed is poured out upon all." 



30 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



the Author of their religion, and better informed 
than his apostles ? 

The word of God is like a two-edged sword, in- 
vincible where it is properly used ; but the word of 
man is comparatively a feeble weapon, without 
point or edge. The word of man alone, though 
adorned with all eloquence, learning, and logical 
subtlety, will never stop the progress of unbelief. 
The word of God, rightly explained, so as to ad- 
minister grace to the hearers and readers, will still 
preserve and extend Christianity, as it has hitherto 
done, notwithstanding all the opposition of the 
world, and those unfeeling children of it, whose 
hearts are hardened and understandings darkened 
by the pride of life. If, therefore, as St. James 
advises, any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of 
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid- 
eth not, and it shall be given him. The wisdom 
here meant, is that which maketh wise unto salva- 
tion ; and certainly is not to be found in the cold 
didactic writings of those who rely entirely on their 
own reason, and deny or explain away the doctrine 
of grace. 

Grace is the living gospel. Perishable paper, 
pens, ink, and printer's types, can never super- 
sede the daily, hourly operation of the omniscient 
and omnipotent Creator and Preserver of the uni- 
verse, 

Let us remember, 'that to every man is given the 
manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal.' 1 

Mr. Paine, in his attack on Christianity, sums 
up all his objections at the close. The first and 
greatest is this and I give it in his own words, 



1 1 Cor. sit 7. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



3! 



though it is contrary to my practice, and opinion 
of propriety, often to cite the cavils of unbelievers : 
/'The idea or belief of a word of God existing in 
print, or in writing, or in speech, is inconsistent 
with itself, for reasons already assigned. These 
reasons, among many others, are the want of an 
universal language; the mutability of language; 
the errors to which translations are subject ; the 
possibility of totally suppressing such a word ; the 
probability of altering it, or of fabricating the 
whole, and imposing it upon the world." 

Now these objections cannot possibly be made 
to the evidence of the Spirit of God, the manifes- 
tation of the Spirit given to every man ; because 
the Spirit speaks an universal language, address- 
ing itself to the feelings of the heart, which are 
the same, whatever sounds are uttered by the 
tongue; because its language is not subject to the 
mutability of human dialects; because it is far 
removed from the possibility of misrepresentation 
by translators ; because it cannot be totally sup- 
pressed ; because it cannot be altered ; because it 
cannot be frabricated or imposed on the world ; 
because v it is an emanation from the God of truth } 
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. This 
evidence sheds its light all over the Christian 
world, and is seen, like the sun in the heavens, 
by all who use their visual powers, unobstructed 
by self-raised clouds of passion, prejudice, vice, 
and false philosophy. 



32 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION VI. 

Opinions of Bishop Taylor respecting the Evidence 
of the Holy Spirit ; " showing" as he expresses 
it, " how the Scholars of the University shall become 
most learned and most useful " 

" We have examined all ways, in our inquiries 
after religious truth, but one; all but God's way. 1 
Let us, having missed in all the other, try this. 
Let us go to God for truth ; for truth comes from 
God only. If we miss the truth, it is because we 
will not find it ; for certain it is, that all the truth 
which God hath made necessary, he hath also 
made legible and plain ; and if we will open our 
eyes we shall see the sun, and if f we will walk 
in the light, we shall rejoice in the light.' Only 
let us withdraw the curtains, let us remove the 
impediments, and the sin that doth so easily beset 
us. That is God's way. Every man must, in his 
station, do that portion of duty which God requires 
of him ; and then he shall be taught of God all 
that is fit for him to learn ; there is no other way 
for him but this. The fear of the Lord is the be- 
ginning of wisdom ; and a good understanding 
have all they that do thereafter. And so said 
David of himself: 'I have more understanding 
than my teachers ; because I keep thy command- 
ments.' And this is the only w ay which Christ 
has taught us. If you ask, what is truth ? you 

1 See Bishop Taylor's Via Intell^gentiae. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



33 



must not do as Pilate did, ask the question, and 
then go away from him that only can give you an 
answer ; for as God is the Author of truth, so he is 
the Teacher of it, and the way to learn is this ; for 
so saith our blessed Lord ; ' If any man will do his 
will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of 
God or no.' 

* This text is simple as truth itself, but greatly 
comprehensive, and contains a truth that alone 
will enable you to understand all mysteries, and to 
expound all prophecies, and to interpret all Scrip- 
tures, and to search into all secrets, all, I mean, 
which concern our happiness and our duty. It is 
plainly to be resolved into this proposition : 

"The way to judge of religion is by doing our 
duty; and theology is rather a divine life than a 
divine knowledge. 

" In heaven indeed we shall first see and then 
love; but here on earth we must first love, and 
love will open our eyes as well as our hearts, and 
we shall then see and perceive and understand. 

" Every man understands more of religion by 
his affections than by his reason. It is not the wit 
of the ntan, but the spirit of the man ; not so much 
his head as his heart that learns the divine philo- 
sophy. 

" There is in every righteous man a new vital 
principle. The spirit of grace is the spirit of wis- 
dom, and teaches us by secret inspirations, by pro- 
per arguments, by actual persuasions, by personal 
applications, by effects and energies; and as the 
soul of man is the cause of all his vital operations, 
so is the Spirit of God the life of that life, and the 
cause of all actions and productions spiritual ; and 
the consequence of this is what St. John tells us 



34 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



of: ' Ye have received the unction from above, 
and that anointing teach eth you all things/ — all 
things of some one kind ; that is, certainly all 
things that pertain to life and godliness; all that 
by which a man is wise and happy. Unless the 
soul have a new life put into it, unless there be a 
vital principle within, unless the Spirit of life be 
the informer of the spirit of the man, the word of 
God will be as dead in the operation as the body 
in its powers and possibilities. 

" God's Spirit does not destroy reason, but 
heightens it. God opens the heart and creates a 
new one, and without this creation, this new prin- 
ciple of life, we may hear the word of God, but we 
can never understand it ; we hear the sound, but 
are never the better. Unless there be in our hearts 
a secret conviction by the Spirit of God, the gos- 
pel itself is a dead letter. 

" Do we not see this by daily exjjerience ? Even 
those things which a good man and an evil man 
know, they do not know both alike. An evil man 
knows that God is lovely, and that sin is of an evil 
and destructive nature, and when he is reproved, 
he is convinced ; and when he is observed, he is 
ashamed ; and when he has done, he is unsatis- 
fied ; and when he pursues his sin, he does it in 
the dark. Tell him he shall die, and he sighs 
deeply, but he knows it as well as you. Proceed, 
and say that after death comes judgment, and the 
poor man believes and trembles ; and yet, after ail 
this, he runs to commit his sin with as certain an 
event and resolution as if he knew no argument 
against it. 

" Now since, at the same time, we see other per- 
sons, not so learned, it may be, not so much versed 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 3d 

in the Scriptures, yet they say a thing is good and 
lay hold of it. They believe glorious things of 
heaven, and they live accordingly, as men that be- 
lieve themselves. What is the reason of this dif- 
ference ? They both read the Scriptures ; they 
read and hear the same sermons ; they have capa- 
ble understandings ; they both believe what they 
hear and what they read; and yet the event is 
vastly different. The reason is that which I am 
now speaking of : the one understands by one 
principle, the other by another; the one under- 
stands by nature, the other by grace ; the one by 
human learning, the other by divine ; the one reads 
the Scriptures without, and the other within; the 
one understands as a son of man, the other as a 
son of God ; the one perceives by the proportions 
of the world, the other by the measures of the 
Spirit; the one understands by reason, the other 
by love ; and therefore he does not only under- 
stand the sermons of the Spirit and perceive their 
meaning, but he pierces deeper, and knows the 
meaning of that meaning ; that is, the secret of the 
Spirit, that which is spiritually discerned, that 
which gives life to the proposition and activity to 
the soul. And the reason is, that he hath a divine 
principle within him and a new understanding ; 
that is plainly, he hath love, and that is more than 
knowledge, as was rarely well observed by St. Paul : 
f Knowledge puffeth up ; but charity 1 edifieth;' that 
is, charity maketh the best scholars. No sermons 
can build you up a holy building to God, unless 
the love of God be in your hearts, and purify your 
souls from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. 

1 Ay&7rr]. — "Love of God." 

D 2 



36 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



u A good life is the best way to understand wis- 
dom and religion, because, by the experiences and 
relishes of religion, there is conveyed to them a 
sweetness to which all wicked men are strangers. 
There is in the things of God, to those who prac- 
tise them, a deliciousness that makes us love them, 
and that love admits us into God's cabinet, and 
strangely clarifies the understanding by the puri- 
fication of the heart. For when our reason is raised 
up by the Spirit of Christ, it is turned quickly into 
experience ; when our faith relies upon the prin- 
ciples of Christ, it is changed into vision; and so 
long as we know God only in the ways of men, by 
contentious learning, by arguing and dispute, we 
see nothing but the shadow of him, and in that 
shadow we meet with many dark appearances, lit- 
tle certainty, and much conjecture ; but when we 
know him Xoyw a7ro(j)avTiia*), yaXrjvrj voepq., with the 
eyes of holiness and the instruction of gracious 
experiences, with a quiet spirit and the peace of 
enjoyment, then we shall hear what we never 
heard, and see what our eyes never saw ; then the 
mysteries of godliness shall be open unto us, and 
clear as the windows of the morning ; and this is 
rarely well expressed by the apostle : 'If we stand 
up from the dead and awake from sleep, then 
Christ shall give us light.' 

" For though the Scriptures themselves are writ- 
ten by the Spirit of God, yet they are written 
within and without; and besides the light that 
shines upon the face of them, unless there be a 
light shining within our hearts, unfolding the 
leaves, and interpreting the mysterious sense of the 
Spirit, convincing our consciences and preaching 
to our hearts, to look for Christ in the leaves of 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



37 



the gospel, is to look for the living" among the 
dead. There is a life in them ; but that life is, ac- 
cording to St. Paul's expression, ' hid with Christ in 
God,' and unless the Spirit of God draw it forth, 
we shall not be able. 

" Human learning brings excellect ministries 
towards this; it is admirably useful for the reproof 
of heresies, for the detection of fallacies, for the 
letter of the Scriptures, for collateral testimonies, 
for exterior advantages ; but there is something 
beyond this, that human learning without the ad- 
dition of divine can never reach. 

m A good man, though unlearned in secular 
knowledge, is like the windows of the temple, nar- 
row without and broad within; he sees not so 
much of what profits not abroad, but whatsoever is 
within, and concerns 'religion and the glorifications 
of God, that he sees with a broad inspection ; but 
all human learning without God is but blindness 
and folly. One man discourses of the sacrament, an- 
other receives Christ; one discourses for or against 
tran substantiation ; but the good man feels himself 
to be changed, and so joined to Christ, that he 
only understands the true sense of transubstantia- 
tion, while he becomes to Christ bone of his bone, 
flesh of his flesh, and of the same spirit with his 
Lord. 

&e From holiness we have the best instruction. 
For that which we are taught by the Holy Spirit 
of God, this new nature, this vital principle within 
us, it is that which is worth our learning : not vain 
and empty, idle and insignificant notions, in which, 
when you have laboured till your eyes are fixed 
in their orbs, and your flesh unfixed from its bones, 
you are no better and no wiser. If the Spirit of 



38 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



God be your teacher, he will teach you such truths 
as will make you know and love God, and become 
like to him, and enjoy him for ever, by passing" 
from similitude to union and eternal fruition. 

" Too many scholars have lived upon air and 
empty notions for many ages past, and troubled 
themselves with tying and untying knots, like 
hypochondriacs in a fit of melancholy, thinking of 
nothings, and troubling themselves with nothings, 
and falling out about nothings, and being very 
wise and very learned in things that are not, and 
work not, and were never planted in Paradise by 
the finger of God. If the Spirit of God be our 
teacher, we shall learn to avoid evil and to do good, 
to be wise and to be holy, to be profitable and care- 
ful ; and they that walk in this way shall find 
more peace in their consciences, more skill in the 
Scriptures, more satisfaction in their doubts, than 
can be obtained by all the polemical and imperti- 
nent disputations of the world. The man that is 
wise, he that is conducted by the Spirit of God, 
knows better in what Christ's kingdom doth con- 
sist, than to throw away his time and interest, his 
peace and safety, for what ? for religion ? no : for 
the body of religion ? not so much : for the gar- 
ment of the body of religion ; no, not for so much ; 
but for the fringes of the garment of the body of 
religion ; for such, and no better, are many reli- 
gious disputes; things, or rather circumstances and 
manners of things, in which the soul and spirit are 
not at all concerned. The knowledge which comes 
from godliness is Seiorepov ri iratrqQ cnrocEi&uq, some- 
thing more certain and divine than all demonstra- 
tion and human learning. 

" And now to conclude : — to you I speak, fathers 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



39 



and brethren, you who are or intend to be of the 
clergy ; you see here the best compendium of your 
studies, the best alleviation of your labours, the 
truest method of wisdom. It is not by reading 
multitudes of books, but by studying the truth of 
God ; it is not by laborious commentaries of the 
doctors that you can finish your work, but the ex- 
position of the Spirit of God ; it is not by the rules 
of metaphysics, but by the proportions of holiness; 
and when all books are read, and all arguments 
examined, and all authorities alleged, nothing 
can be found to be true that is unholy. The learn- 
ing of the fathers was more owing to their piety 
than their skill, more to God than to themselves. 
These were the men that prevailed against error, 
because they lived according to truth. If ye walk 
in light, and live in the Spirit, your doctrines will 
be true, and that truth will prevail. 

" I pray God to give you all grace to follow this 
wisdom, to study this learning, to labour for the 
understanding of godliness ; so your time and your 
studies, your persons and your labours, will be 
holy and useful, sanctified and blessed, beneficial 
to men and pleasing to God, through him who is 
the wisdom of the Father, who is made to all that 
love him, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanc- 
tifi cation, and redemption." 

Will any one among our living theologists con- 
trovert the merits of Bishop Taylor ? Is there one 
whom the public judgment will place on an equa- 
lity with him ? Will any one stigmatize him as 
an ignorant enthusiast? His strength of under- 
standing and powers of reasoning are strikingly 
exhibited in his Ductor Dubitantium, in his Liberty 
of Prophesying, and in his polemical writings. I 



40 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



must conclude, that he understood the Christian 
religion better than most of the sons of men ; be- 
cause, to abilities of the very first rank, he united 
in himself the finest feelings of devotion. His au- 
thority must have weight with all serious and hum- 
ble enquirers into the subject of Christianity, and his 
authority strongly and repeatedly inculcates the 
opinion which I wish to maintain, that the best 
evidence of the truth of our religion, is derived 
from the operation of the Holy Spirit on every 
heart which is disposed to receive it. 

And I wish it to be duly attended to, that the 
discourse from which the above extracts are made, 
was not addressed to a popular assembly, but to 
the clergy of an university, and at a solemn visita- 
tion. The Bishop evidently wished that the doc- 
trines which he taught might be disseminated 
among the people by the parochial clergy. They 
were disseminated ; and in consequence of it, 
Christianity flourished. They must be again dis- 
seminated by the bishops and all parochial clergy, 
if they sincerely wish to check the progress of in- 
fidelity. The minds of men must be impressed 
with the sense of an influential divinity in the 
Christian religion, or they will reject it for the 
morality of Socrates, Seneca, the modern philoso- 
phers, and all those plausible reasoners, to whom 
this world and the c things which are seen are the 
chief objects of attention. The old divines taught 
and preached with wonderful efficacy, because they 
spoke as men having authority from the Holy 
Ghost, and not as the disputers of this world, 
proud of a little science, acquired from heathen 
writers in the cloisters of an academy. There was 
a celestial glory diffused round the pulpits of the 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



4L 



old divines ; and the hearers, struck with venera- 
tion, listened to the preacher as to an undoubted 
oracle. Full of grace were his lips; and moral 
truth was beautifully illuminated by divine. She 
easily won and firmly fixed the affections of men, 
clothed, as she was, with light as with a garment. 



SECTION VII. 

Passages from the celebrated Mr, John Smith, Fellow 
of Queens College, Cambridge, corroborative of 
the opinion that the best Evidence of the Christian 
Religion arises from the energy of the Holy Spirit, 1 

" Divine truth is not to be discerned so much in 
a man's brain as in his heart. There is a divine 
and spiritual sense which alone is able to converse 
internally with the life and soul of divine truth, 
as mixing and uniting itself with it; while vulgar 
minds behold only the body and outside of it. 
Though in itself it be most intelligible, and such as 
the human mind may most easily apprehend, yet 
there is an incrustation, 2 as the Hebrew writers call 
it, upon all corrupt minds, which hinders the lively 
taste and relish of it. 

u The best acquaintance with religion is a know- 
ledge taught of God: 3 it is a light which de- 
scends from heaven, which alone is able to guide 

1 See his Select Discourses. 

2 Incrustamentum immunditiei. — " An incrustation of filth." 

3 OeodidciKTog yvuxrig. 



42 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and conduct the souls of men to that heaven 
whence it comes. The Christian religion is an in- 
flux from God upon the minds of good men ; and 
the great design of the gospel is to unite human 
nature to divinity. 

" The gospel is a mighty efflux and emanation 
of life and spirit, freely issuing forth from an om- 
nipotent source of grace and love; that god-like, 
vital influence, by which the Divinity derives 
itself into the souls of men, enlivening and trans- 
forming them into its own likeness, and strongly 
imprinting upon them a copy of its own beauty 
and goodness : like the spiritual virtue of the 
heavens, which spreads itself freely upon the lower 
world, and subtly insinuating itself into this be- 
numbed, feeble, earthly matter, begets life and 
motion in it ; briefly, it is that whereby God comes 
to dwell in us, and we in him. 

" The apostle calls the law the ministration of 
the letter and of death, it being in itself but a 
dead letter, as all that which is without a man's 
soul must be ; but on the other side, he calls the 
gospel, because of the intrinsical and vital ad- 
ministration of it in living impressions upon the 
souls of men, the ( ministration of the Spirit,' and 
the ' ministration of righteousness by which he 
cannot mean the history of the gospel, or those 
credenda propounded to us to believe ; for this 
would make the gospel itself as much an external 
thing as the law was; and so we see that the preach- 
ing Christ crucified was to the Jews a ( stumbling- 
block, and to the Greeks foolishness.' But indeed 
he means a vital efflux from God upon the souls of 
men, whereby they are made partakers of life and 
strength from him. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



43 



"Though the history and outward communication 
of the gospel to us in scrip tis is to be always ac- 
knowledged as a special mercy and advantage, and 
certainly no less privilege to the Christians than it 
was to the Jews, to be the depositaries of the oracles 
of God, yet it is plain that the apostle, where he 
compares the law and the gospel, means something 
which is more than a piece of book-learning, or an 
historical narration of the free love of God, in the 
several contrivances of it for the redemption of 
mankind. 

" The evangelical or new law is an efflux of 
life and power from God himself, the original of 
life and power, and produceth life wherever it 
comes ; and to this double dispensation of law and 
gospel does St. Paul clearly refer : ' You are the 
epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with 
ink, but with the Spirit of the living 1 God ; not in 
tables of stone.' 1 Which last words are a plain 
gloss upon that mundane kind of administering 
the law, in a mere external way, to which he op- 
poseth the gospel. 

" Ttte gospel is not so much a system and body 
of saving divinity, as the spirit and vital influence 
of it spreading itself over all the powers of men's 
souls, and quickening them into a divine life ; it is 
not so properly a doctrine that is wrapt up in ink 
and paper, as it is vitalis scientia, a living impression 
made upon the soul and spirit. The gospel does 
not so much consist in verbis as in virtute ; — in the 
written word, as in an internal energy." 

He who wishes to have an adequate idea of 
this profound scholar and most excellent man will 



1 2 Cor. iii. 3. 



44 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

find a pleasing account of him in bishop Patrick's 
sermon at his funeral, subjoined to the Select Dis- 
courses, which abound with beautiful passages, 
illustrative of the true Christian philosophy. 



SECTION VIII. 

Dr. Isaac Barrow 9 s opinion of the Evidence of Chris- 
tianity, afforded by the illuminating operation of 
the Holy Spirit ; and on the Holy Spirit in ge- 
neral. 

" Our reason is shut up, and barred with various 
appetites, humours, and passions against gospel 
truths; nor can we admit them into our hearts, 
except God, by his Spirit, do set open our mind, 
and work a free passage for them into us. It is he 
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
that must, as St. Paul speaketh, 4 illustrate our 
hearts with the knowledge of these things.' An 
unction from the Holy One, clearing our eyes, 
softening our hearts, healing our distempered fa- 
culties, must, as St. John informeth us, teach and 
persuade us this sort of truths. A hearty belief 
of these seemingly incredible propositions must in- 
deed be, as St. Paul calleth it, * the gift of God,' pro- 
ceeding from that Spirit of faith whereof the same 
apostle speaketh ; such faith is not, as St. Basil 
saith, engendered by geometrical necessities, but by 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



45 



the effectual operations of the Holy Ghost. Flesh 
and blood will not reveal to us, nor can any 
man, with clear confidence, say that Jesus is the 
Lord (the Messias, the infallible Prophet, the uni- 
versal Lawgiver, the Son of the living God) but 
by the Holy Ghost. Every spirit which sincerely 
confesseth him to be the Christ, we may, with St. 
John, safely conclude to be of God; for of our- 
selves we are not sufficient, as the apostle says, 
XoyL^ea-Srai n, to reason out or collect any of these 
things. We never, of our own accord, without 
Divine attraction, should come unto Christ; that 
is, should effectually consent unto and embrace 
his institution, consisting of such unplausible pro- 
positions and precepts. Hardly would his own 
disciples, who had so long enjoyed the light of his 
conversation and instruction, admitted it, if he had 
not granted them that Spirit of truth, whose work 
it was odqyeiv, to lead them in this unknown and 
uncouth way ; avayyeWeiv, to tell them again and 
again, that is, to instil and inculcate these crab- 
bed truths upon them ; vttgjaiiavyigkeiv } to admo- 
nish, excite, and urge them to the marking and 
minding them: hardly, I say, without the guid- 
ance of this Spirit, would our Lord's disciples have 
admitted divers evangelical truths, as our Lord 
himself told them. ' I have/ said he, e many things 
beside to say to you, but ye cannot as yet bear them ; 
but when he, the Spirit of truth shall come, he shall 
conduct you into all truth.' 

" As for the mighty sages of the world, the learned 
scribes, the subtle disputers, the deep politicians, 
the wise men according to the flesh, the men of 
most refined judgment and improved reason in the 
world's eye, they were more ready to deride than 



46 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



to regard, to impugn than to admit these doctrines; 
to the Greeks, who sought wisdom, the preaching 
of them seemed foolishness. 

" It is true, some few sparks or flashes of this 
divine knowledge may possibly be driven out by 
rational consideration. Philosophy may yield some 
twilight glimmerings thereof. Common reason may 
dictate a faint consent unto, may produce a cold 
tendency after some of these things ; but a clear 
perception, and a resolute persuasion of mind, that 
full assurance of faith and inflexible confession of 
hope ofioXoyta tt]q e\7rwc aKkivrjg, which the apostle 
to the Hebrews speaks of, that full assurance of un- 
derstanding, that abundant knowledge of the divine 
will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 
with which St. Paul did pray that his Coiossians 
might be replenished ; these so perfect illustrations 
of the mind, so powerful convictions of the heart, 
do argue immediate influences from the fountain 
of life and wisdom, the Divine Spirit. No external 
instruction could infuse, no interior discourse could 
excite them ; could penetrate these opacities of ig- 
norance, and dissijDate these thick mists of preju- 
dice, wherein nature and custom do involve us ; 
could so thoroughly awaken the lethargic stupidity 
of our souls; could supple the refractory stiffness 
of our wills ; could mollify the stony hardness of 
our hearts; could void our natural aversion to such 
such things, and quell that (ppovq^xa vcipKog, that 
carnal mind, which St. Paul says, * is enmity 
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, 
neither indeed can be ;' could depress those vj/wjuara, 
those lofty towers of self-conceit, reared against the 
knowledge of God, and demolish those oxypujja-a, 
those bulwarks of self-will and perverse stomach op- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



posed against the impressions of divine faith, and cap- 
tivate izav voY)\ia. y every conceit and device of ours 
to the obedience of Christ and his discipline. Well, 
therefore, did St. Paul pray in behalf of his Ephe- 
sians, that God would bestow on them the Spirit of 
wisdom and revelation in the acknowledgment of 
him, and that the ' eyes of their mind might be en- 
lightened, so as to know the hope of their calling 
that is, to understand and believe the doctrines 
of Christianity. * * * * 

" We proceed now to the peculiar offices, func- 
tions, and operations of the Holy Spirit ; many 
such there are in an especial manner attributed 
or appropriated to him ; which, as they respect 
God, seem reducible to two general ones : the 
declaration of God's mind, and the execution of his 
will ; as they are referred to man, (for in regard to 
other beings, the Scripture doth not so much con- 
sider what he performs, it not concerning us to 
know it,) are especially the producing in us all 
actions requisite or conducible to our eternal hap- 
piness and salvation : to which may be added, the 
intercession between God and man, which jointly 
respecteth both. 

" First, it is his especial work to disclose God's 
mind to us; whence he is styled the ' Spirit of 
truth, the Spirit of prophecy, the Spirit of revela- 
tion ;' for that all supernatural light and wisdom 
have ever proceeded from him. He instructed ail 
the prophets that have been since the world began, 
to know, he enabled them to speak, the mind of 
God concerning things present and future. Holy 
men (that have taught men their duty, and led 
them in the way to bliss) were but his instruments, 
* speaking as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost/ 



48 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



" By his inspiration the Holy Scriptures (the 
most full and certain witness of God's mind, the 
law and testimony by which our life is to be di- 
rected and regulated) were conceived. He guided 
the apostles into all truth, and by them instructed 
the world in the knowledge of God's gracious in- 
tentions towards mankind, and in all the holy mys- 
teries of the gospel : ' That which in other ages was 
not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now 
revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the 
Spirit. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man, the things 
which God hath prepared for them that love him ; 
but God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit,' 
saith St. Paul. All the knowledge we can pretend 
to in these things doth proceed merely from his re- 
velation, doth wholly rely upon his authority. 

To him it especially belongs to execute the will 
of God, in matters transcending the ordinary power 
and course of nature. Whence he is called the 
' power of the most High/ (that is, the substantial 
power and virtue of God,) the finger of God; (as 
by comparing the expression of St. Luke and St. 
Matthew may appear ;) and whatever eminent God 
hath designed, he is said to have performed by 
him ; by him he framed the world, and (as Job 
speaketh) 6 garnished the heavens.' By him he 
governeth the world, so that all extraordinary works 
of providence, (when God, beside the common 
law and usual course of nature, doth interpose to 
do any thing,) all miraculous performances are at- 
tributed to his energy. By him our Saviour, by 
him the apostles, by him the prophets are expressly 
said to perform their wonderful works; but espe- 
cially by him God manages that great work, so 
earnestly designed by him, of our salvation ; work- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



49 



ing in us all good dispositions, capacifying us for 
salvation, directing and assisting us in all our ac- 
tions tending thereto. 

"We naturally are void of those good dispositions 
in understanding, will, and affections which are 
needful to render us acceptable unto God, fit to 
serve and please him, capable of any favour from 
him, of any true happiness in ourselves. Our 
minds naturally are blind, ignorant, stupid, giddy, 
and prone to error, especially in things supernatural 
and spiritual, and abstracted from ordinary sense. 
Our wills are fro ward and stubborn, light and un- 
stable, inclining to evil, and averse from what is 
truly good ; our affections are very irregular, dis- 
orderly, and unsettled ; to remove which bad dis- 
positions, (inconsistent with God's friendship and 
favour, driving us into sin and misery,) and to 
beget those contrary to them, the knowledge and 
belief of divine truth, a love of goodness and de- 
light therein ; a well composed, orderly, and 
steady frame or spirit, God in mercy doth grant to 
us the virtue of his Holy Spirit ; who first opening 
our hearts, so as to let in and apprehend the light 
of divine truth, then, by representation of proper 
arguments, persuading our reason to embrace it, 
begetteth divine knowledge, wisdom, and faith 
in our minds, which is the work of illumination 
and instruction, the first part of his office respect- 
ing our salvation. 

" Then by continual impressions he bendeth 
our inclinations, and mollifieth our hearts, and 
tempereth our affections to a willing compliance 
with God's will, and a hearty complacence in that 
which is good and pleasing to God ; so breeding 
all pious and virtuous inclinations in us, reverence 

E 



50 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



towards God, charity to men, sobriety and purity 
as to ourselves, with the rest of those amiable and 
heavenly virtues of soul, which is the work of 
sanctifjcation, another great part of his office. 

" Both these operations together (enlightening 
our minds, sanctifying our wills and affections) do 
constitute and accomplish that work, which is 
styled the regeneration, renovation, vivification, 
new creation, resurrection of a man ; the faculties 
of our souls being so improved, that we become, as 
it were, other men thereby ; able and apt to do that 
for which before we were altogether indisposed and 
unfit. 

" He also directeth and governeth our actions, 
continually leading and moving us in the ways of 
obedience to God's holy will and law. As we live 
by him, (having a new spiritual life implanted in 
us,) so we walk by him, are continually led and 
acted by his conduct and help. He reclaimeth 
us from error and sin ; he supporteth and strength- 
ened us in temptation ; he adviseth and admo- 
nisheth, exciteth and encourageth us to all works 
of piety and virtue. 

" Particularly he guideth and quickeneth us in 
devotion, showing us what we should ask, raising 
in us holy desires and comfortable hopes, dis- 
posing us to approach unto God with firm dispo- 
sitions of mind, love, and reverence, and humble 
confidence. 

" It is also a notable part of the Holy Spirit's 
office to comfort and sustain us in all our religious 
practice, so particularly in our doubts, difficulties, 
distresses, and afflictions; to beget joy, peace, and 
satisfaction in us, in all our performances, and in 
all our sufferings, whence the title of Comforter 
belongeth to him. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



51 



" It is also another part thereof to assure us of 
God's gracious love and favour, and that we are 
his children ; confirming in us the hopes of our 
everlasting inheritance. We, feeling ourselves to 
live spiritually by him, to love God and goodness, 
to thirst after righteousness, and to delight in 
pleasing God, are thereby raised to hope God loves 
and favours us ; and that he having by so authentic 
a seal, ratified his word and promise, having already 
bestowed so pure a pledge, so precious an earnest, 
so plentiful first-fruits, will not fail to make good 
the remainder designed and promised us, of ever- 
lasting joy and bliss." 

Let no man be afraid or ashamed of maintaining 
opinions on the divine energy, which are thus sup- 
ported by the first of scholars and philosophers, Isaac 
Barrow. 



SECTION IX. 

Bishop Bull's opinion on the Evidence of the Spirit of 
God on the Mind of Man, and its union with it; 
the loss of that Spirit by Adam's fall, and the re- 
covery of it by Christ. 

" The second way," says Bishop Bull, " by which 
the Spirit of God witnesseth with our spirit, that 
we are the sons of God, is by enlightening our un- 
derstandings and strengthening the eyes of our 

e 2 



52 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



minds, as occasion requires, to discern those gra- 
cious fruits and effects which God hath wrought in 
us. 

" The Spirit of God, which in the first begin- 
ning of things moved upon the face of the great 
deep, and invigorated the chaos, or dark and con- 
fused heap of things, and caused light to shine 
out of that darkness, can, with the greatest ease, 
when he pleases, cause the light of divine conso- 
lation to arise and shine upon the dark and dis- 
consolate soul. And this he often doth. I may 
here appeal to the experience of many good Chris- 
tians, who sometimes find a sudden joy coming 
into their minds, enlightening their understand- 
ings, dispelling all clouds from thence, warming 
and enlivening their affections, and enabling 
them to discern the graces of God shining in their 
brightness, and to feel them vigorously acting in 
their souls, so that they have been, after a sort, 
transfigured with their Saviour, and wished, with 
St. Peter, that they might always dwell on that 
mount Tabor. * * * * 

Man may be considered in a double relation ; 
first, in relation to the natural, animal, and earthly 
life; and so he is a perfect man, that hath only a 
reasonable soul and body adapted to it ; for the 
powers and faculties of these are sufficient to the 
exercise of the functions and operations belonging 
to such a life. But secondly, man may be con- 
sidered in order to a supernatural end, and as de- 
signed to a spiritual and celestial life; and of this 
life the Spirit of God is the principle. For man's 
natural powers and faculties, even as they were 
before the fall, entire, were not sufficient or able of 
themselves to reach such a supernatural end, but 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



53 



needed the power of the Divine Spirit to strengthen, 
elevate, and raise them. He that denies this, opposes 
himself against the stream and current of the Holy- 
Scriptures, and the consent of the Catholic church. 
Therefore to the perfect constitution of man, consi- 
dered in this relation, a reasonable soul and a body 
adapted thereunto are not sufficient ; but there is ne- 
cessarily required an union of the Divine Spirit with 
both, as it were a third essential principle. This, as 
it is a certain truth, so it is a great mystery of Chris- 
tianity. * * * * 

" The great Basil, in his homily entitled, Quod 
Deus non est Author peccati, speaking of the nature 
of man, as it was at first created, hath these words: 
' What was the chief or principal good it enjoyed? 
the accession of God and its conjunction with him 
by love ; from which, when it fell, it became 
depraved with various and manifold evils.' 1 So in 
his book, ' De Spiritu Sancto,' cap. xv. he plainly 
tells us, ' The dispensation of God and our Saviour 
towards man, is but the recalling of him from the 
fall, and his return into the friendship of that God, 
from that alienation which sin had caused. This 
was the end of Christ's coming in the flesh, of his 
life and conversation described in the gospel, of his 
passion, cross, burial, and resurrection ; that man, 
who is saved by the imitation of Christ, might re- 
gain that ancient adoption.' 2 Where he plainly 

1 Ti de r)v avrfj to Ttpor\yk\x,evov dyaOov ; r) wpoaedpsia 
tov 2re&, Kai r) did Trjg dyai7r\g vvvdtyeia' rjg eK7TEG&va, Tolg 

7T01Kl\0LQ KCLI TToXvTOOTTOLQ dppd)^ Y\ \XaGlV SKCtKljJ&r]. 

2 *H TOV Kai GtoJTrjQOQ ilfXOJV irepi tov avQpioiTov OIKO- 

vofiia dvaKXrjffig e^iv dirb Tr)g EKiTTajTtoGewg, Kai eirdvodog elg 
oiKeiuMJiv S'tS, dirb Trjg did tv)v irapaKor)v yevofJiEvrjg aXXoTpi- 
wvewg' did t&to, r) fXETa aapKog kiridriiJLia Xpt^s* r) t&v 
evayyeXiKOJv iroXiTSVfjidTojv v7roTvir(0(Jig, Ta irdQrj, 6 <zavp6g, 



54 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



supposeth that man, before his fall, had the adop- 
tion of a son, and consequently the Spirit of adop- 
tion. And so he expressly interprets himself after- 
wards in the same chapter : ' By the Holy Spirit 
we are restored into paradise, we regain the king- 
dom of heaven, we return to the adoption of 
sons.' 1 Again, Homil. advers. Eunomium, v. p. 117, 
which have these express words : 6 We are called 
in the sanctifi cation of the Spirit, as the apostle 
teacheth. This (Spirit) renews us, and makes us 
again the image of God, and by the laver of rege- 
neration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, we 
are adopted to the Lord, and the new creature 
again partakes of the Spirit, of which being de- 
prived, it had waxed old. And thus man becomes 
again the image of God, who had fallen from the 
divine similitude, and was become like the beasts 
that perish/ 2 

"St. Cyril (7th Dial, de Trin. p. 653) delivers 
the same doctrine with great perspicuity and ele- 
gancy, in these words : ' For when the animal (viz. 
man) had turned aside unto wickedness, and out of 
too much love of the flesh had superinduced on 
himself the disease of sin, that Spirit which formed 
him after the divine image, and as a seal was 

r) Tacprj, r) dvd^avig* lu^e rbv <Taj%6[.iei>ov av6pio7rov $lcl /u- 
/.irjtreujgXpi^s, rr)v dpxaLav eksivijv vioOecriav aTroXaSeiv.' 

1 Aid 7rvevfxarog dyl&, rj eig 7rapddei(rov aTTOKardaraaig' 
i) eig fiaaiXeiav Hpav&v dvodog' rj eig vloBecriav £7rdv6dog. 
Vide ejusdem Lib. cap. 9. 

a 'Ev dyicKTfiuj r« irvev ficiTog skXtjOij/jisp, wg 6 airovToXog 
Sidd(TK£i, thto ri/iidg avoKaivoi' Kal irdXiv eUovag avadei- 
kvvgi 6f«, did Xsrps 7raXiyyevecriag Kai dvaKaimoaewg Trvev- 
jjcirog dyia vioQeT*ne9a Kvpi<i)' Kaivrj TrdXn> kt'igiq iJieraXa/jitd- 
vhgcl tov 7rvevfiarog, h 7rep e<zepr)f.ievr) TreiraXauoro' siklov 
TrdXiv 3"£8 o itvQptoirog knirtGiav Tijg 6/JoioTijrog r/}c Seiag, 
Kal 7rapa(Tvn€Xr]9eig Krrjveaiv dvoi)roig Kai ofiouoOeig avrolg. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



66 



secretly impressed on his soul, was separated from 
him, and so he became corruptible and deformed, 
and every way vicious. But after that the Creator 
of the universe had designed to restore to its pris- 
tine firmness and beauty that which was fallen 
into corruption, and was become adulterated and 
deformed by sin superinduced, he sent again into 
it that divine and holy Spirit which was with- 
drawn from it, and which hath a natural aptitude 
and power to change us into the celestial image, 
viz. by transforming us into his own likeness.' 1 
And in the fourth book of the same work, ' When 
the only begotton Son was made man, finding 
man's nature bereft of its ancient and primitive 
good, he hastened to transform it again into the 
same state, out of the fountain of his fulness, send- 
ing forth (the Spirit), and saying, Receive the 
Holy Ghost." 2 

1 AiavEvevKOTog yap rS £ws irpog to TrXrjfJLfisXeg, Kal tt)v 
eiffTTOLrjTOV dfjiapTtav ek rrjg EiGcnrav (piXocrapKiag r)pp(x)?r)- 
kotoq, to irpbg Sdav elkovcl dia^opcpsv civtov, Kal GK\\xavTp& 
diKfjv a7ropprjT(og evTeQeifievov a7re.vo<T(pi^ETO Trvevfia, (pOap- 

TOV TE 8fW, KCLl CCKaXXkg, Kal TL ydp 8^1 TWV EKTOTTbJV (TVVEl- 

Xox.bg avairk(pavTai ; etteI Se 6 twv oXcjv yevevi&pyog avaico- 
fjiiieiv eOeXev eiq edpawT7]Ta, Kal evKOfffiiav tt)v ev dpxalg 
to dloXi<rSr}<jav eig (pOopai, 7rapd(yr)[i6vTE, Kal aKaXXeg did 
tt)v elcnroirjTov yeyovog dfiapTiav^ evrjKev avQig avTu> to 
cnro(j)oiTr}<Tav wote SeTov te, Kal ayiov TrvEVfJia^ fiETairoisv ev 
fidXa 7rpbg Trjv vTrepKocrfiiov siKova, Kal 7TE(pvKog Kal 8vvd- 
fievov did to npbg ibiav r}fxdg ixETappvOfii^eiv SfMpepeiav." 

2 'Ors ysyovsv av0pu)7rog b jxovoyEvrjg, epr)firjv ts irdXai, 
Kal ev dpxalg ayaQs ttjv dvOpwTrs (pvciv Evpthv, ndXiv av~ 
rrjv eig ekeZvo iiETa^oi%ELSv r]wEiyETo, KaQdirEp ano Trrjyrjg 
tov IdiH TrXrjpwfjiaTog evulg ts Kal Xeyuv Xa^ETS irvEv^ia 
liyiov* 



56 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION X. 

The opinions of Bishop Pearson and Doctor Scott, 
author of the Christian Life, and an Advocate 
for natural Religion, against spiritual Preten- 
sions. 

Bishop Pearson is in the highest esteem as a 
divine. His book on the Creed is recommended 
by tutors, by bishops' chaplains, and by bishops, 
to young students in the course of their reading 
preparatory to holy orders. It has been most ac- 
curately examined and universally approved by 
the most eminent theologues of our church, as an 
orthodox exposition of the Christian creed. Let 
us hear him on the subject of the Spirits evidence, 
which now engages our attention. 

" As the increase or perfection, so the original 
or initiation of faith is from the Spirit of God, not 
only by an external proposal in the word, but by 
an internal illumination in the soul, by which we 
are inclined to the obedience of faith, in assenting 
to those truths which unto a natural and carnal 
man are foolishness. And thus we affirm not only 
the revelation of the will of God, but also the illu- 
mination of the soul of man, to be part of the office 
of the Spirit of God." 1 

Dr. Scott, an orthodox divine, a zealous teacher 
of morality, celebrated for a book entitled the 
Christian Life, says, " That without the Holy 

1 Jiishop Pearson on the Creed, Art. 8, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



57 



Ghost we can do nothing* ; that he is the Author 
and Finisher of our faith, who worketh in us to 
will and to do of his good pleasure. His first office 
is the informing- of our minds with the light of 
heavenly truth. Thus the apostle prays that the 
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, 
would give unto them the Spirit of wisdom and 
revelation in the knowledge of him, that the eyes 
of their understandings being enlightened, they 
might know what is the hope of Christ's calling ; 1 
and we are told, ' that it is by receiving the Spirit of 
God, that we know the things that are freely given 
us of God.' 2 

" Now this illumination of the Spirit is twofold : 
first, external, by that revelation which he hath 
given us of God's mind and will in the holy Scrip- 
ture, and that miraculous evidence by which he 
sealed and attested it ; ' for all Scripture is given 
by inspiration of God ;' 3 or, as it is elsewhere ex- 
pressed, ' was delivered by holy men, as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost;' 4 and all those miracu- 
lous testimonies we have to the truth and divinity 
of Scripture are from the Holy Ghost, and, upon 
that account, are called the ' demonstration of the 
Spirit 1 so that all the light we receive from Scrip- 
ture, and all the evidence we have that that light 
is divine, we derive originally from the Holy 
Spirit. 

" But besides this external illumination of the 
Holy Spirit, there is also an internal one, which 
consists in impressing that external light and evi- 
dence of Scripture upon our understandings, 



1 Ephes. i. 17, 18. 
3 2 Tim. iii. 16. 



2 ] Cor. ii. 12. 
4 2 Pet. i. 21. 



58 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



whereby we are enabled more clearly to appre- 
hend, and more effectually to believe it. 

" For though the divine Spirit doth not (at least 
in the ordinary course of his operation) illuminate 
our minds with any new truths, or new evidences 
of truth, but only presents to our minds those old 
and primitive truths and evidences which he at 
first revealed and gave to the world ; yet there is 
no doubt but he still continues not only to suggest 
them both to our minds, but to urge and repeat 
them with that importunity, and thereby to imprint 
them with that clearness and efficacy, as that if we 
do not, through a wicked prejudice against them, 
wilfully divert our minds from them to vain or 
sinful objects, we must unavoidably apprehend 
them far more distinctly, and assent to them far 
more cordially and effectually, than otherwise we 
should or could have done ; for our minds are 
naturally so vain and stupid, so giddy, listless, and 
inadvertent, especially in spiritual things, which 
are abstract from common sense, as that, did not 
the Holy Spirit frequently present, importunately 
urge, and thereby fix these on our minds, our 
knowledge of them would be so confused, and our 
belief so wavering and unstable, as that they would 
never have any preventing influence on our wills 
and affections. So that our knowledge and belief 
of divine things, so far as they are saving and effec- 
tual to our renovation, are the fruits and products 
of this internal illumination." 1 



1 Scott's Christian Life, part ii. chap. 7- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



59 



SECTION XL 

Opinion of Bishop Sanderson on the impossibility of 
becoming a Christian without supernatural as- 
sistance. 

" It was Simon Magus' s error to think that the gift 
of God might be purchased with money ; and it 
hath a spice of his sin, and so may go for a kind of 
simony, to think that spiritual gifts may be pur- 
chased with labour. You may rise up early and 
go to bed late, and study hard, and read much, 
and devour the marrow of the best authors, and 
when you have done all, unless God give a bless- 
ing unto your endeavours, be as thin and mea- 
ger in regard of true and useful learning, as Pha- 
raoh's lean kine were after they had eaten the fat 
ones. 1 It is God that both ministereth seed to the 
sower, and multiplieth the seed sown ; the princi- 
pal and the increase are both his. 

" It is clear that all Christian virtues and graces, 
though wrought immediately by us, and with the 
free consent of our own wills, are yet the fruit of 
God's Spirit working in us. That is to say, they 
do not proceed originally from any strength of 
nature, or any inherent power in mans free-will ; 
nor are they acquired by the culture of philoso- 
phy, the advantages of education, or any improve- 
ment whatsoever of natural abilities by the helps 
of art or industry : but are in truth the proper 

1 Genesis, xli. 21. 



60 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



effects of that supernatural grace which is given 
unto us by the good pleasure of God the Father, 
merited for us by the precious blood of God the 
Son, and conveyed into our hearts by the sweet 
and secret inspirations of God the Holy Ghost. 
Love, joy, and peace are fruits, not at all of the 
flesh, but merely of the Spirit. 

s€ All those very many passages in the New 
Testament which either set forth the unframeable- 
ness of our nature to the doing of any thing that 
is good, (' not that we are sufficient of ourselves to 
think a good thought ; in me, that is, in my flesh, 
there dwelleth no good thing;' 1 and the like,) or 
else ascribe our best performances to the glory of 
the grace of God, (' without me you can do no- 
thing. All our sufficiency is of God. Not of our- 
selves ; it is the gift of God. It is God that work- 
eth in you both the will and the deed;' 2 and the 
like,) are so many clear confirmations of the truth. 
Upon the evidence of which truth it is that our 
mother the church hath taught us in the public 
service to beg at the hands of almighty God that 
he would f endue us with the grace of his Holy 
Spirit, to amend our lives according to his holy 
word:' and again, (consonantly to the matter we 
are in hand with, almost in terminis,) that he would 
' give to all men increase of grace to hear meekly 
his word, and to receive it with pure affection, and 
to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.' As without 
which grace it were not possible for us to amend 
our lives, or to bring forth such fruits, according 
as God requireth in his holy word. 

1 2 Cor. iii. 5 ; Rom. vii. 18. 

8 John, xv. 7; 2 Cor. iii. 5; Eph. ii. 8; Phil. ii. 13. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



61 



" And the reason is clear : because as the tree is, 
such must the fruit be. Do men look to gather 
c grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?' 1 Or can they 
expect from a salt fountain other than brackish 
water ? Certainly, what is born of flesh can be no 
better than flesh. e Who can bring a clean thing 
out of that which is unclean?' 2 Or how can any 
thing that is good proceed from a heart, all the 
e imaginations of the thoughts whereof are only 
and continually evil ? )3 If we would have the fruit 
good, reason will (and our Saviour prescribeth the 
same method) that order be taken, ' first to make 
the tree good.' 4 

" But you will say, it is impossible so to alter 
the nature of the flesh as to make it bring forth 
good spiritual fruit ; as it is to alter the nature of 
a crab or thorn, so as to make it bring forth a plea- 
sant apple. Truly, and so it is : if you shall en- 
deavour to mend the fruit by altering the stock, 
you shall find the labour altogether fruitless ; — a 
crab will be a crab still, when you have done what 
you can : and you may as well hope to wash an 
Ethiopian white, as to purge the flesh from sinful 
pollution. 

" The work therefore must be done quite another 
way : not by alteration, but addition. That is, 
leaving the old principle to remain as it was, by 
superinducing ab extra a new principle, of a dif- 
ferent and more kindly quality. We see the ex- 
periment of it daily in the grafting of trees ; a 
crabstock, if it have a scion of some delicate apple 
artfully grafted in it; look what branches are suf- 



1 Matt. vii. 16. 
3 Gen. vi. 5. 



2 Job, xiv. 4. 
4 James, i. 21. 



62 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



fered to grow out of the stock itself, they will all 
follow the nature of the stock, and if they bring 
forth any fruit at all, it will be sour and stiptic. 
But the fruit that groweth from the graft will be 
pleasant to the taste, because it followeth the na- 
ture of the graft. We read of Xoyog efifyvrog, an 
ingrafted word. Our carnal hearts are the old 
stock ; which, before the word of God be grafted 
in it, cannot bring forth any spiritual fruit ac- 
ceptable to God: but when, by the powerful opera- 
tion of his Holy Spirit, the word which we hear 
with our outward ears is inwardly grafted therein, 
it then bringeth forth the fruit of good living. So 
that all the bad fruits that appear in our lives come 
from the old stock, the flesh : and if there be any 
good fruit of the Spirit in us, it is from the virtue 
of that word of grace that is grafted in us." 

What modern philosopher or divine can rival 
this great prelate ? His Prcelectiones rank him with 
Aristotle ; his piety, with the chief of the apostles. 



SECTION XII. 

Bishop Smalridge on the absolute Necessity of Grace. 

"He who is not convinced of the absolute neces- 
sity of God's grace to invigorate his obedience to 
the divine laws, must be a perfect stranger to him- 
self, as well as to the word of God ; and must have 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



63 



been as careless an observer of what passes within his 
own breast, as of what is written in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. When one gives himself leisure to take a 
survey of his own faculties, and observes how dark- 
sighted he is in the perception of divine truths; 
with what reluctance he sometimes chooses what 
his understanding plainly represents to him as 
good, and refuses what his own conscience directly 
pronounces to be evil ; how apt his affections are 
to rebel against the dictates of his reason, and to 
hurry him another way than he knows he should, 
and, in his sober mind, very fain would go; when 
he sets before his thoughts the great variety of 
duties commanded, and of sins forbidden, and the 
perverseness of his own depraved nature, which 
gives him an antipathy to those duties and a 
strong inclination to those sins ; when he reflects 
on the power and cunning of his spiritual enemies, 
always alluring him to sin, and seducing him from 
the practice of virtue ; when he weighs with himself 
the necessity of practising every duty, and forsaking 
every kind of wickedness, in order to secure a good 
title to the promises of the gospel ; when he takes 
a view of those particular obstacles which hinder 
him in the exercise of several graces, and of the 
strong temptations which prompt him to the com- 
mission of several sins; when he considers the apt- 
ness of human nature to grow weary of performing 
the same things, though in themselves never so 
pleasant, and its still greater disposition to grow 
faint, when the actions continually to be repeated 
are burdensome to flesh and blood ; when he com- 
pares the necessity of perseverance with the diffi- 
culty of it, the prevalence of things present and 
sensible with the weakness wherewith those objects 



64 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



affect us that are absent and spiritual ; when, I 
say, a considering man puts all these things toge- 
ther, he cannot but be convinced, that ' narrow is 
the path that leads unto everlasting life/ and that 
without illumination from the Spirit of God, he 
shall not be able rightly to discern it ; that e strait 
is the gate' which opens an entry into heaven ; 
and that he cannot by the force of his own natural 
strength, without new power given him from above, 
and the secret influences of God's Holy Spirit, 
adding force and energy to his own endeavours, 
force his way through it. Conscious, therefore, of 
his own weakness, he will acknowledge the neces- 
sity of God's grace ; and being ready to sink 
through his own natural weight, unless supported 
by foreign help, he will cry out with St. Peter, 
' Save me, Lord, or else I perish.' 

" Some philosophers of old, flattered the pride 
and vanity of men, by teaching them that they 
wanted nothing to make them virtuous, but only a 
firm and steady resolution of being so ; that this 
resolution they themselves were masters of, and 
might exert at their own pleasure. They con- 
fidently boasted that their happiness was a thing 
wholly in their own power; that they need not 
ask of the gods to be virtuous, nor consequently to 
be happy, since they could be so without their aid 
or concurrence, or even in despite of them. The 
Pelagians afterwards raised their heresies upon the 
principles which these heathen philosophers had 
first broached ; they engaged in the quarrel of de- 
praved nature against divine grace : all our dis- 
orders they would have to be the effects not of sin 
but of nature; all our evil inclinations seemed to 
them capable of being subdued by our own unas- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



65 



sisted reason; and they did not think the succour 
of any supernatural grace necessary either for the 
combating of vice, or the maintenance of their in- 
tegrity and virtue. But the sober Christian hath 
learned from the Scriptures to speak and to think 
more humbly of himself, and more becomingly and 
magnificently of God; we are there taught that 
( we are not sufficient of ourselves to think/ much 
less to do, ' any thing as of ourselves, but that our 
sufficiency is of God ;' that ' it is God, which work- 
eth within us both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure ;' ' that it is by the Spirit' we must ' mortify 
the deeds of the body,' if we would live ; that it is 
God who, by his Spirit, 'makes us perfect in every 
good work to do his will, working in us that which 
is well-pleasing in his sight.' The humble and de- 
vout Christian being thus satisfied of the necessity 
of God's grace, both from his own experience, and 
from the Scriptures, and being assured of the vital 
influences of this Spirit from the promises made to 
him in the gospel, will not be over-curious to in- 
quire into the secret and inconceivable manner of 
its operation. He will choose rather to feel these 
influences, than to understand or explain them, 
and will not doubt of that power, which, though 
he cannot give an account of as to the manner of 
its working, he plainly perceives to be great and 
marvellous from its mighty and wonderful effects : 
for when, in reading the Holy Scriptures, he finds 
the veil of darkness removed from before his under- 
standing; when those clouds of ignorance that 
had overcast his mind, are presently dispersed ; 
when the doubts under which he had for some time 
laboured, are on a sudden cleared ; when such 
pious thoughts as were wont to pass transiently are 

F 



06 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



long* dwelt upon, so as to leave behind them deep 
and lasting impressions ; when these are suggested 
to him, without his seeking', and are urged and 
pressed upon him so importunately, that he cannot 
choose but listen unto them ; when, from a calm 
and serious consideration of the state of his own 
soul, the odiousness and danger of sin, the beauty 
and necessity of holiness, he is led to make good and 
pious resolutions of serving God with greater purity 
for the time to come; when he finds a sudden im- 
pulse upon his spirits, rousing him up to the per- 
formance of some important duty which he had 
before neglected ; or an unexpected check, stopping 
him in the midst of his course, w r hen he is rushing 
on blindly and impetuously to the commission of 
some heinous sin ; when in his devotions he finds 
his attention fixed, his affections inflamed, and his 
heart melted within him ; when, while the voice of 
God's minister preaching the saving truths of the 
gospel sounds in his ears, he is sensible of an in- 
ward voice speaking with greater force and efficacy 
to his soul, to his understanding, and to his heart; 
when, under the pressure of any grievous affliction, 
he feels unexpected joy and comfort; when ' light 
rises up in the midst of darkness;' when there is 
« given unto him beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness ;' upon all these and the like occasions he 
is sensible of the presence and aid of God's Holy 
Spirit, whose grace alone is sufficient to all these 
purposes, and whose strength is thus made perfect 
in his weakness. 

" How the operation of God's Holy Spirit is 
consistent with the freedom of our own wills: how 
far we are passive, and how far active in those good 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 67 

thoughts, words, and works, which are wrought in 
us by the influence of this Holy Spirit, the prac- 
tical Christian doth not much trouble himself to 
inquire. Whatsoever is good in him, that he de- 
voutly ascribes not unto himself, but unto the grace 
of God which was afforded him : ' O Lord, not 
unto me, but unto thy name be the glory or 
having by his former sins justly merited to be 
left destitute and forsaken ; in the latter case he is 
as ready to make Daniel's humble acknowledg- 
ment, f O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, 
but unto me confusion of face.' He will leave it 
to others to dispute about the nature, extent, and 
efficacy of this grace, and will make it his own 
chief labour to obtain, to cherish, and to improve 
it; he strives, according to the best of his judg- 
ment, to form right notions of its efficacy, but he 
is still more solicitous that no mistakes in his opi- 
nions about it may have any dangerous influences 
upon his practice. He cannot be very wrong in 
his notions, whilst he believes that man's will is 
neither so free, as without God's grace to do good, 
nor so enslaved, as not to be at liberty either to 
concur with or to resist that grace : but whether 
these notions about a matter so intricate be ex- 
actly right or not, he is fully assured that he 
cannot be mistaken in his measures of acting, if 
he exerts his own endeavours with as much vigour 
and earnestness, as if by them alone he were finally 
to stand or fall ; and, at the same time, implores 
God's grace with as much fervency, as if that alone 
could support him : — if he neither relies so far on 
his own strength, as not humbly to acknowledge 
that it is ' God alone who works in him both to 
will and to do,' nor so far depends on the grace of 

f 2 



68 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



God to save him, as to forget that he is required to 
work out his own salvation : — if, lastly, at his ap- 
proaches to the holy altar, he doth prepare himself 
for the reception of the blessed sacrament, with 
as much care, diligence, and scrupulosity, as if 
the benefits he there expects did entirely depend 
upon the disposition he brings along with him, and 
his own fitness to communicate, and yet, at the 
same time, not trusting on his own imperfect righ- 
teousness, but on God s infinite mercy, he doth 
there, with faith, with humility, with ^reverence, 
address himself to that blessed Spirit, who is the 
' giver of every good and perfect gift,' that he may 
be fulfilled with his grace and heavenly bene- 
diction." 

I cannot but hope that these opinions of a clas- 
sical scholar, a man adorned with all elegant and 
polite learning, as well as with philosophy ; a man 
whose habits of life and social connexions tended 
to remove him from all contagion of enthusiasm, 
will have great weight with the elegant and polite 
part of the w^orld, in recommending the neglected 
or exploded doctrine of grace. No man needs 
blush to entertain the religious sentiments of 
bishop Smalridge ; nor can folly or fanaticism be 
reasonably imputed to divines like him, whose 
minds were enriched with all the stores of science, 
and polished with all the graces of ornamental 
literature. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



69 



SECTION XIII. 

Human Learning highly useful, and to be pursued 
with all Diligence, but cannot, o f itself, furnish 
Evidences of Christianity completely satisfactory, 
like those which the Heart of the good Christian 
feels from the divine influence : with the opinion 
of Doctor Isaac Watts, 

Learning should be the handmaid of religion. 
She must not take upon her the office of a judge 
or arbitress. Her employment is highly honour- 
able and useful, though subordinate. Let learn- 
ing be cultivated, and continue to flourish and 
abound. Religion is the sun to the soul ; the 
source of light and the cherisher of life. But 
because there is a sun, must there be no -inferior 
lights ? God has made the moon and the stars 
also, and pronounced that they are good. 

Never let the enemies to Christianity triumph 
over it, by asserting that it is an enemy to learning, 
and tends to introduce the ignorance of barbarism. 
Learning, under due regulations, contributes to 
soften the mind, and prepare it for the divine 
agency. A learned, virtuous, and religious man, 
whose religion is vital and truly Christian, is a 
superior being, even in this mortal state, and may 
be imagined, by us his fellow-creatures, to be little 
lower than the angels. 

Nobody can hold learning, and the inventions 



70 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



of human ingenuity, in higher esteem than myself; 
I look up to them with affection and admiration. 
But after all, and however perfect and beautiful 
they may be, they are but human, the product of 
poor, short-lived, fallible mortals. Whatever comes 
from the Father of lights, from him who made 
that mind which is capable of learning and science, 
must deserve more attention and honour than can 
possibly be due to the most beautiful and stupen- 
dous works of human ingenuity. These are not 
to be slighted, but beloved, pursued, rewarded. 
But I am a mortal. Every moment is bringing 
me nearer to that period when the curtain shall 
fall, and all ' these things be hidden from my 
eyes.' My first * attention and warmest affection 
therefore ought to be fixed on things spiritual and 
eternal. 

All arts, all sciences, must be secondary and 
instrumental to the attainment of divine illumina- 
tion. 'I am the light of the world,' says Jesus 
Christ. Can any reasonable man rest satisfied 
without coming to the light after such a declara- 
tion ? Will he be contented with the radiance of 
dim lights and false lights, when he is invited to 
approach the brilliant and the true ? 

Learning is necessary for the purposes of this 
life ; it is an ornament and a defence. It is 
highly useful in religious investigation. It fur- 
nishes arguments to enforce morality, to persuade 
to all that is good and great, and to deter from 
folly and vice. But let it ever keep to its own office, 
which is certainly, in religious matters, ministerial. 
It can amuse ; it can inform ; but it cannot supply 
the summum bonum, it cannot raise fallen man to 
his original state. Grace only can restore man to 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



71 



God's image. If learning could have done it, why 
were the heathens unrestored ? are not the infidels 
often learned ? and would not the advent of our 
Lord and Saviour have been superfluous, if learn- 
ing could have repaired the ruins of the fall ? 

Few (as I have already said) in the mass of 
mankind are learned. They are perhaps as one 
to a million. What is to become of the millions 
then, if the gospel of Jesus Christ, by which alone 
they can live in the sweet tranquillity of a state of 
grace, and die with religious hope and confidence, 
cannot be received, with sufficient evidence, with- 
out deep learning, logical and metaphysical dispu- 
tation ? What is to prove it to them, who have 
neither books, leisure or ability to study, if God 
himself do not teach them by his Spirit ? Blessed 
be his name, he has taught them, and continues 
to teach them. It is among the learned chiefly 
that infidelity prevails. She inhabits libraries, and 
walks abroad in academic groves, but is rarely 
seen in the cottage, in the field, or in the manu- 
factory. The poor and the unlearned do in gene- 
ral believe in the gospel most firmly. What is 
the evidence which convinces them ? It is the 
witness of the Spirit; and thanks be to him who 
said ' my grace is sufficient for thee.' ' He that 
believeth on the Son of God hath this witness in 
himself?' 

The opinion of a man like Dr. Isaac Watts on 
the true nature of Christianity, is almost of itself 
decisive. He was not only a devout and zealous 
Christian, but a profound scholar, a natural phi- 
losopher, a logician, and a metaphysician. His life 
and conversation exhibited a pattern of every Chris- 
tian virtue. Let us hear him. 



72 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



" Every true Christian," says he, " has a suffi- 
cient argument and evidence to support his faith, 
without being able to prove the authority of any 
of the canonical writings. He may hold fast his 
religion, and be assured that it is divine, though 
he cannot bring any learned proof that the book 
that contains it is divine too ; nay, though the book 
itself should even happen to be lost or destroyed : 
and this will appear, with open and easy convic- 
tion, by asking a few such questions as these : 

" Was not this same gospel preached with glo- 
rious success before the New Testament was writ- 
ten ? 

" Were not the same doctrines of salvation by 
Jesus Christ published to the world by the minis- 
try of the apostles, and made effectual to convert 
thousands, before they set themselves to commit 
these doctrines to writing ? 

" And had not every sincere believer, every true 
convert, this blessed witness in himself, that Christi- 
anity was from God ? 

" Eight or ten years had passed away, after the 
ascension of Christ, before any part of the New 
Testament was written ; and what multitudes of 
Christian converts were born again by the preach- 
ing of the word, and raised to a divine and hea- 
venly life, long ere this book was half finished or 
known, and that among the heathens as well as 
Jews. Great numbers of the Gentile world be- 
came holy believers, each of them having the 
' epistle of Christ written in the heart/ and bear- 
ing about within them a noble and convincing 
proof that this religion was divine; and that with- 
out a written gospel, without epistles, and without 
a Bible. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



73 



" In the first ages of Christianity, for several 
hundred years together, how few among the com- 
mon people were able to read ? How few could 
get the possession or the use of a Bible, when all 
sacred as well as profane books were of necessity 
copied by writing ? How few of the populace, in 
any large town or city, could obtain or could use 
any small part of Scripture, before the art of 
printing made the word of God so common ? And 
yet millions of these were regenerated, sanctified, 
and saved by the ministration of the gospel. 

" Be convinced then that Christianity has a 
more noble inward witness belonging to it than is 
derived from ink and paper, from precise letters 
and syllables. And though God, in his great wis- 
dom and goodness, saw it necessary that the New 
Testament should be written, to preserve these holy 
doctrines uncorrupted through all ages ; and though 
he has been pleased that it should be the invariable 
and authentic rule of our faith and practice, and 
made it a glorious instrument of instructing minis- 
ters and leading men to salvation in all these lat- 
ter times ; yet Christianity has a secret witness in 
the hearts of believers, that does not depend on 
their knowledge and proof of the authority of the 
Scriptures, nor of any of the controversies that in 
latter ages have attended the several manuscript 
copies and different readings and translations of 
the Bible. 

" Now this is of admirable use and importance 
in the Christian life, upon several accounts. First, 
if we consider how few poor unlearned Christians 
there are who are capable of taking in the argu- 
ments which are necessary to prove the divine au- 
thority of the sacred writings ; and how few, even 



74 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 1 



among the learned, can well adjust and determine 
many of the different readings or different transla- 
tions of particular passages in Scripture. Now a 
wise Christian does not build his faith or hope 
merely upon any one or two single texts, but upon 
the general scope, sum and substance of the gos- 
pel. By this he feels a spiritual life of peace and 
piety begun in him. And here lies his evidence 
that Christianity is divine, and that these doc- 
trines are from heaven, though a text or two may 
be falsely written or wrong translated, and though 
a whole book or two may be hard to be proved au- 
thentic. 

" The learned well know what need there is of 
turning over the histories of ancient times, of the 
traditions and writings of the fathers, and all au- 
thors pious and profane ; what need of critical 
skill in the holy languages and in ancient manu- 
scripts; what a wide survey of various circum- 
stances of fact, time, place, style, diction, is neces- 
sary to confirm one or another book or verse of 
the New Testament, and to answer the doubts of 
the scrupulous, and the bold objections of the in- 
fidel. Now how few of the common rank of Chris- 
tians, whose hearts are inlaid with true faith in the 
Son of God, and with real holiness, have leisure, 
books, instruction, advantages, and judgment suffi- 
cient to make a thorough search into these matters, 
and to determine, upon a just view of argument, 
that these books were written by the sacred authors 
whose names they bear, and that these authors 
were under an immediate inspiration in writing 
them. What a glorious advantage is it then to 
have such an infallible testimony to the truth of 
the gospel, wrought and written in the heart by 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



75 



renewing grace, as does not depend on this labo- 
rious, learned, and argumentative evidence of the 
divine authority of the Bible, or of any particular 
book or verse in it ! 

" Secondly, if we consider what bold assaults 
are sometimes made upon the faith of the unlearn- 
ed Christian by the deists and unbelievers of our 
age, by disputing against the authority of the 
Scripture, by ridiculing the strange narratives and 
sublime doctrines of the Bible, by setting the 
seeming contradictions in a blasphemous light, 
and then demanding, \ How can you prize, or how r 
can you believe that this book is the word of God, 
or that the religion it teaches is divine ?' In such 
an hour of contest, how happy is the Christian that 
can say, Though I am not able to solve all the 
difficulties in the Bible, nor maintain the sacred 
authority of it against the cavils of wit and learn- 
ing, yet I am well assured that the doctrines of 
this book are sacred, and the authority of them 
divine ; for when I heard and received them, they 
changed my nature, they subdued my sinful ap- 
petites, they made a new creature of me, and raised 
me from death to life ; they made me love God 
above all things, and gave me the lively and well- 
grounded hope of his love. Therefore I cannot 
doubt but that the chief principles of this book are 
divine, though I cannot so well prove that the 
very words and syllables of it are so too ; for it is 
the sense of Scripture, and not the mere letters 
of it, on which I build my hope. What if the 
Scripture should not be divine ? What if this gos- 
pel and the other epistles should not be written by 
inspiration? What if these should be merely the 
words of men, and not the very word of God ? — 



76 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Though I cannot recollect all the arguments that 
prove Matthew, Mark, and Luke to be divine his- 
torians, or Peter and Paul to be inspired writers ; 
yet the substance and chief sense of these gospels 
and their epistles must needs be divine ; for it has 
begun the spiritual and eternal life in my soul ; 
and this is my witness, or rather the witness of the 
Spirit of God within us, that Christ is the Son of 
God, the Saviour of sinners, and the religion that I 
profess and practise is safe and divine. 

" And though there are many and sufficient argu- 
ments drawn from criticism, history, and human 
learning, to prove the sacred authority of the 
Bible, and such as may give abundant satisfaction 
to an honest inquirer, and full satisfaction that it is 
the word of God; yet this is the chief evidence 
that the greatest part of Christians can ever at- 
tain of the divine original of the Holy Scripture it- 
self, as well as the truth of the doctrines contained 
in it, namely, that they have found a holy and 
heavenly change passed upon them, by reading 
and hearing the propositions, the histories, the 
precepts, the promises, and the threatening^ of 
this book ; and thence they are wont to infer, that 
the God of truth would not attend a book, which 
was not agreeable to his mind, with such glorious 
instances of his own power and grace. 

" I have dwelt the longer in showing that the 
inward witness is such a witness to the truth of 
the Christian religion as does not depend on the 
exact truth of letters and syllables, nor on the cri- 
tical knowledge of the copies of the Bible, nor on 
this old manuscript or the other new translation, 
because every manuscript and every translation 
has enough of the gospel to save souls by it, and 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



77 



make a man a Christian ; and because I think this 
point of great importance in our age, which has 
taken so many steps to heathenism and infidelity ; 
for this argument or evidence will defend a Chris- 
tian in the profession of the true religion, though 
he may not have skill enough to defend his Bible. 

" ' Why do you believe in Jesus ?' asks the un- 
believer. Tf you have this answer ready at hand, 
' I have found the efficacy and power of the gospel 
in my heart this will be sufficient to answer 
every cavil. 

" The words of St. Paul to the Corinthians have 
a reference to our present subject. ' Ye are mani- 
festly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered 
by us ; written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of 
the living God; not in tables of stone, but in 
fleshly tables of the heart.' " x 

Thus far Dr. Watts in his sermons on the " In- 
ward Witness to Christianity," where the reader 
will find a great deal of truly evangelical instruc- 
tion. For my own part, I cannot but think this 
good man approached as nearly to Christian per- 
fection as any mortal ever did in this sublunary 
state ; and therefore I consider him as a better 
interpreter of the Christian doctrines than the 
most learned critics, who, proud of their reason 
and their learning, despised or neglected the very 
life and soul of Christianity, the living everlasting 
gospel, the supernatural operation of Divine grace. 
And be it ever remembered, that Dr. Watts was a 
man who cultivated his reason with particular care, 
who studied the abstrusest sciences, and was as w r ell 
qualified to become a verbal critic, or a logical dis- 



1 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3. 



78 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

putant on the Scriptures, as the most learned 
among the doctors of the Sorbonne, or the greatest 
proficients in polemic divinity. 



SECTION XIV. 

The opinion of Dr. Lucas, the celebrated author of a 
Treatise on u Happiness" concerning the Evidence 
of Christianity arising from Divine Communi- 
cation* 

" There is," says Dr. Lucas, " no great need of ac- 
quired learning in order to true illumination. Our 
Saviour did not exact of his disciples, as a neces- 
sary preparation for his doctrine, the knowledge of 
tongues, the history of times or of nature, logic, 
metaphysics, or the like. These indeed may be 
serviceable to many excellent ends : they may be 
great accomplishments of the mind, great orna- 
ments, and very engaging entertainments of life. 
They may be, finally, very excellent and necessary 
instruments of, or introductions to several profes- 
sions and employments : but as to religious perfec- 
tion and happiness, to these they can never be in- 
dispensably necessary. 

" A man may be excellently, habitually good, 
without more languages than one ; he may be 
fully persuaded of those great truths, that will ren- 
der him master of his passions and independent of 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



79 



the world ; that will render him easy and useful in 
this life, and glorious in another, though he be no 
logician nor metaphysician. 

" The qualifications previously necessary to illu- 
mination are two or three moral ones, implied in 
that infant temper which our Saviour required in 
those who would be his disciples, — humility, impar- 
tiality, and a thirst and love of truth. 

" There is a knowledge which, like the summit 
of Pisgah, where Moses stood, shows us the land 
of Canaan, but does not bring us to it. 

" How does the power of darkness, at this mo- 
ment, prevail amidst the light of the gospel ? Ave 
men ignorant ? No : but their knowledge is not 
such as it ought to be ; it is not the light of life. 

" The understanding does not always determine 
the will. 

" Though every honest man be not able to dis- 
cover all the arguments on which his creed stands, 
he yet may discover enough ; and what is more, he 
may have an inward, vital, sensible proof of them ; 
he may feel the power, the charms of holiness, ex- 
perience its congruity and loveliness to the human 
soul, so as that he shall have no doubts or scruples. 
But besides this, there is a voice within, a divine 
Teacher and Instructor. 

" Extraordinary natural parts are not necessary 
to illumination. The gospel takes no notice of 
them. Such is the beauty of holiness, that it re- 
quires rather a fine sensibility arising from purity 
of heart, than quickness of intellectual apprehen- 
sion, to render us enamoured of it." 

A truth which involves the present and eternal 
happiness of human beings, cannot be placed in 
too great a variety of lights, or too repeatedly en- 



so 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



forced. ' He that soweth to the Spirit/ says St. 
Paul, ' shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.' 1 
When such is the harvest, every benevolent mind 
must wish to urge mankind, in this their seed-time, 
to sow to the Spirit. What is so important can- 
not be inculcated by too frequent repetition. I 
therefore quote authors which occur to me in the 
course of my reflections on the subject, whose 
opinions though similar, may add weight to doc- 
trines already advanced. Such is the above 
from Dr. Lucas, a most excellent divine, never 
charged with the least tendency to blameable en- 
thusiasm. 

I wish my reader to pay particular attention to 
what he suggests on the infant temper, required by 
our Lord in his followers. ' Except,' says Jesus 
Christ, ' ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
God.' 2 ' Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall 
not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he 
shall not enter therein.' 3 

The amiable dispositions of infants must there- 
fore be produced in the heart, before the religion 
of Christ can be received into it. But are such 
dispositions best produced, or can they be pro- 
duced at all, by subtle disputations, by cold argu- 
mentation, by bringing forward objections in or- 
der to display ingenuity in answers, laboured in- 
deed and sagacious, but, after all, unsatisfactory 
to many, and unintelligible to more ? 

Yet this mode of recommending Christianity is 
the only one approved by some persons of high 
authority ; and there are those who would not 



1 Gal. vi. 8. Matt, xviii. 3. 3 Mark, x. 14. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



81 



venture to preach the doctrine of grace, the teach- 
ing- of God and a spiritual understanding, lest 
they should he numbered with enthusiasts, and 
lose all chance of promotion and worldly esteem. 
This danger must be voluntarily incurred by all 
who would succeed in repelling the rapid advances 
of modern infidelity. Christianity flourished won- 
derfully while its genuine doctrines, the glad tid- 
ings of grace, were preached ; and it has been 
gradually declining, ever since it has become fa- 
shionable, in order to discountenance fanaticism, 
to recommend mere heathen morality as the es- 
sence of Christianity, and to make use of no other 
arguments to prove the truth of it, but such as an 
ingenious man, without the smallest particle of 
religion in his heart, might produce. Profes- 
sional advocates, furnished with human arguments 
only and external evidence, appear to the true 
Christian, as well as to the unbeliever, like law- 
yers pleading for a fee, on that side of the ques- 
tion which they know to be wrong, or at least are 
not convinced is right. It is indeed certain that 
a dull and plodding scholar may make a wonder- 
ful display of erudition in defence of Christianity, 
without feeling a lively sense of it himself, or 
communicating it to his readers. His materials 
supply the adversaries with arms for fresh attacks, 
and at the same time fail in building an impregna- 
ble rampart round the citadel which he undertakes 
to defend. There is usually some weak place at 
which the enemy enters; and, having once entered, 
he takes possession of the fortress, and uses the 
stores and ammunition against the very persons 
who collected them with so much labour. 

Nothing of this kind can happen when recourse 

G 



82 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



is had to the teaching of the Spirit. It overcomes 
the heart ; it brings it to the lovely state of infan- 
tine innocence and simplicity; and renders him 
who, like St. Paul, was a persecutor of it, a warm 
friend and advocate. 

It is certain that the argumentative mode of ad- 
dressing unbelievers, and a reliance on external 
evidence, has hitherto failed. Many of the most 
learned and able men of modern times, who were 
capable of understanding the historical, logical, 
and metaphysical defences of Christianity, have 
read them without conviction, and laughed at their 
laborious imbecility. 

It is time to try another mode : and all who are 
sincere Christians will favour the experiment; for 
they would rather see men converted to the true 
religion, though they should become fervent, and 
zealous even to a degree of harmless enthusiasm, 
than totally alienated from it, and enlisted under 
the partizans of infidelity. 

If men of the world and men of learning 1 will 
not interpose to prevent the divine energy, we 
shall see it produce its genuine effects in all their 
vigour and maturity , as well in the world of grace 
as of nature. A secret operation gives life and 
growth to the tree, and so will it to the human 
soul. " I am the vine, ye are the branches," says; 
our Saviour: the branches will soon wither and 
decay, if the sap flows not to them from the vine. 

1 Nec philosophos se ostentent : sed satagant fieri theodi- 
dacti. Greg. ix. Kp. ad Univ. Paris. — " Neither let them os 
tentatiously put themselves off as philosophers ; but labour to 
become men taught of God." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



^3 



SECTION XV. 

Passages from a well-known Book of an anonymous 
Author, entitled Inward Testimony, 

i( Real Christians find, that as soon as they apply 
themselves to know what is comprehensible in the 
sacred Scriptures, and to a sincere endeavour to do 
what is practicable, so soon a faith in its incompre- 
hensible doctrines is produced, and then is ful- 
filled, that ' he that doeth the will of God shall 
know of the doctrines whether they be of God/ 

" The divine Spirit concurs with the outward 
revelation in changing' a man's sceptical dispo- 
sition, and then he is fixed : otherwise he would 
be as ready as ever to embrace the first plausible 
argument against the gospel. 

" We have some, who, by their mere notional 
knowledge of revelation, the outward testimony 
to Christianity, disbelieve the reality or necessity 
of any acquaintance with the inward testimony, 
by which the divine Spirit produces a serious 
spiritual frame, fitting the soul to receive the 
sanctifying impressions of an outward revelation. 
They think that reading of sacred Scripture, and 
forming from thence right notions of Christianity, 
in order to talk of it, with a going the round of 
common duties, and a not being guilty of common 
sins, is the whole of the Christian religion, and all 
the meetness that is necessary for heaven. A seri- 
ous heavenly frame suitable to the true notion of 

G 2 



84 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



revelation, has no place in them ; they ridicule it 
in others, and name it affectation, rather than any 
real part of Christianity. 

" An ingenious mind may argue for God against 
the atheist ; for Christ against the Socinian ; and 
for the outward testimony of the Spirit of Christ 
against the deist ; and he himself be no real Chris- 
tian : but no person can well display this inward 
testimony of Christ in the soul, without the experi- 
ence of it." 1 



SECTION XVI. 

Dr. Townsons opinion on the Evidence which is in 
this Book recommended as superior to all other. 

" If the word was enforced by miracles in the times 
only of its early publication, it has the standing 
support and evidence of another power, which is 
still as operative, where we will allow it, as ever. 
This is declared and promised in the following 
passage: ( Jesus answered them and said, My 
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. Tf any 
man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine 
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of my- 
self.' 

1 Jam hie videte magnum sacramentum, Fratres. Magisteri 
forinsecus adjutoria quaedum sunt et admonitiones ; cathedram 
in ccelo habet qui corda docet. — August. Tr. 3 in 1 Joan. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



85 



" The person who enters on the study of a sci- 
ence, of which he has only a general idea, must 
receive many things at first on the authority of 
his instructors. And surely there is no one, who, 
by his life and works, has such claim to trust and 
confidence in his words as the Author and Finisher 
of our faith. If then we really desire to know the 
certainty of his doctrine; if we have the courage 
to sacrifice meaner pursuits to the wisdom that is 
from above, and the felicity of attaining it ; we 
shall study the truth of his religion as he directs, 
by the practice of its laws. And this method, he 
assures us, will yield us the repose and comfort of 
firm persuasion. Continuing steadfast in such a 
course of discipline, we shall not seek after signs 
from heaven, nor ask to behold the blind receive 
their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, or the 
dead raised up. The healing efficacy and blessed 
influence of the gospel will sufficiently vouch for 
its truth and excellence. 

" The evidence which thus possesses the soul is 
not liable to be impaired by time, as might an 
impression once made on the senses ; but will 
shine more and more unto a perfect day. For the 
practice of religion, by purifying the heart, will 
raise and improve the understanding to conceive 
more clearly and judge more rightly of heavenly 
things and divine truths; the view and contem- 
plation of which will return upon the heart the 
warmth of livelier hopes and more vigorous in- 
citements to obedience; and effectual obedience 
will feel and testify that it is the finger of God. 

" For is nature able, by its own efficiency, to 
clear the eyes of the mind ; to rectify the will ; to 



86 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



regulate the affections, to raise the soul to its no- 
blest object, in love and adoration of God ; to em- 
ploy it steadily in its best and happiest exercise, 
justice and charity to man ; to detach its desires 
from the pleasures, profits, and honours of the 
world ; to exalt its views to heavenly things ; 
to render the whole life godly, just, and sober ? 
He, w 7 ho impartially examines his own moral abi- 
lities by the pure and searching light of the gos- 
pel, must discern their defects and weakness in 
every part ; and when he well considers the 
tenor and spirit of this gospel, must acknowledge 
that he is not of himself sufficient for the attain- 
ments to which it calls and conducts its faithful 
votary. 

" What then is it that hath taken him by the 
hand, and leads him on in this rising path of vir- 
tue and holiness; that prevents his steps from 
sliding; or if his foot hath slipped, raises him 
again ; that keeps him steady in the right way; or, 
if at any time he hath wandered out of it, recalls 
him to it; that strengthens him to resist temptations, 
to endure toils, and so continue patiently in well 
doing ; that, as he advances, opens to his faith a 
still brightening view of the heavenly Jerusalem, 
through the gloom which our earthly state hangs 
upon death and futurity; and animates him to 
live and walk by this faith ? 

"If these are exertions beyond the sphere of 
mere human activity, the question, whence such 
improvement of soul, and spirit, and life proceeds, 
will admit of an easy and clear answer. It is God 
who blesses our earnest petitions that we may do 
his will, and our sincere endeavours to do it, with 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



87 



the grace of his Holy Spirit; who worketh in us 
both to will and to do of his good pleasure ; and 
thus verifies and fulfils the promises, made by 
Christ to those who ask in his name, of succour and 
strength from on high. Christ therefore is his 
beloved Son, by whom we are redeemed, and in 
whom we are accepted. The religion which he 
hath taught us, so worthy of God in the theory, 
and so favoured by him in the practice of its laws, 
proves its heavenly origin by the fruit it produces; 
and brings its divinity home to the breast of the 
devout professor by experience of its power unto 
salvation. 

" It is natural to conclude, that he who has this 
conviction of its certainty will be desirous of per- 
suading others to the belief and practice of it; and 
will be of an apt and fit disposition to instruct 
them in it." 

There is scarcely any recent divines, whose 
opinions ought to have more weight than those of 
Dr. Townson. He lived, as he wrote, according to 
the true gospel. He is universally esteemed by 
the most learned and judicious theologists of the 
present day ; and his opinions alone carry with 
them sufficient authority to justify me fully in re- 
commending that evidence of the gospel truth 
which arises from divine influence, consequent on 
obedience to its precepts. An orthodox life, I am 
convinced, is the best preparative to the entertain- 
ment of orthodox opinions ; and I rejoice to find 
such men as Townson enforcing the doctrine, 
' that if any man will do the will of Christ, he 
shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.' 
He does not refer us to systematical or philosophi- 
cal works, but to the teaching of the Holy Ghost, 



88 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



for the attainment of this knowledge; a knowledge, 
compared to which all other is to man — condemned 
as he is shortly to die — but puerile amusement, a 
house of cards, a bubble blown up into the air, and 
displaying deceitful colours in a momentary sun- 
shine. 



SECTION XVII. 

Dr. Doddridge on the doctrine of Divine Influence. 

"Any degree of Divine influence on the mind, in- 
clining it to believe in Christ, and to practise vir- 
tue, is called grace. All those who do indeed 
believe in Christ, and in the main practise virtue, 
are to ascribe it not merely or chiefly to their own 
wisdom and goodness, but to the special operation 
of Divine grace upon their souls, as the original 
cause of it. None can deny, that God has such an 
access to the minds of men that he can work upon 
them in what manner he pleases : and there is great 
reason to believe that his secret influence on the 
mind gives a turn to many of the most important 
events relating to particular persons and societies,' 
as it is evident many of the public revolutions, 
mentioned in the Old Testament, are ascribed to 
this cause. 2 Though the mind of man be not in- 

1 Prov. xxi. I. 

2 Ezra, i. 1. Religion of Nature Delineated, p. 105 — 107. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



89 



vincibly determined by motives, yet in matters of 
great importance it is not determined without 
them : and it is reasonable to believe, that where a 
person goes through those difficulties which attend 
faith and obedience, he must have a very lively 
view of the great engagements to them, and proba- 
bly, upon the whole, a more lively view than ano- 
ther, who in the same circumstances, in all other 
respects acts in a different manner. Whatever in- 
struments are made use of as the means of making 
such powerful impressions on the mind, the efficacy 
of them is to be ascribed to the continual agency 
of the first cause. The prevalence of virtue and 
piety in the church is to be ascribed to God, as 
the great original Author, even upon the principles 
of natural religion. Good men in Scripture, who 
appear best to have understood the nature of God, 
and his conduct towards men, and who wrote un- 
der the influence and inspiration of his Spirit, fre- 
quently offer up such petitions to God, as show 
that they believed the reality and importance of 
his gracious agency upon the heart to promote 
piety and virtue. 1 God promises to produce such 
a change in the hearts of those to whom the other 
valuable blessings of his word are promised, as 
plainly implies that the alteration made in then- 
temper and character is to be looked upon as his 
work. 2 

" The Scripture expressly declares, in many 
places, that the work of faith in the soul is to be 

1 Psal. li. 10—12; xxxix. 4; xc. 12; cxix. 12, 18,27,33 
—37, 73, 80, 133. 1 Chron. xxix. 18, 19. Eph. i. 16, &c. 
Col.i. 9—11, &c. sim. 

2 Deut. xxx. 6. Psal. ex. 3. Jer. xxxi. 33; xxxii. 39, 40. 
Ezek. xi. 19, 20 ; xxxvi. 26, 27. Compare Heb viii. 8—13. 



90 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



ascribed to God, and describes the change made in 
a man's heart, when it becomes truly religious, in 
such language as must lead the mind to some 
strength superior to our own by which it is effected. 1 
The increase of Christians in faith and piety, is 
spoken of as the work of God ; which must more 
strongly imply, that the first beginnings of it are to 
be ascribed to him. 2 The Scripture does expressly 
assert the absolute necessity of such Divine in- 
fluences on the mind, in order to faith and holiness, 
and speaks of God's giving them to one, while he 
withholds them from another, as the great reason 
of the difference to be found in the characters of 
different men in this important respect. 3 

" It appears probable from the light of nature, 
and certain from the word of God, that faith and 
repentance are ultimately to be ascribed to the 
work of special grace upon the hearts of men. 4 As 

' John i. 13 ; iii. 3, 5, 6. Acts, xi. 18 ; xvi. 14. 2 Cor. iii. 3. 
Eph i. 19, 20; ii. I, 10; iv. 24. Phil. i. 29. Col. i. 11, 12; 

ii. 12, 13. Vid. James, i. 18. 2. Tim. ii. 25. To this cata- 
talogue we scruple not to add Eph. ii. 8, though some have ob- 
jected that t'sto cannot refer to ttl^eojq ; since the like change of 
genders is often to be found in the New Testament: compare 
Actsxxiv. 16; xxvi. 17- Phil. i. 28. 1 John, ii. 8. Gal. 

iii. 16; iv. 19. Matt. vi. ult. xxviii. 19. Rom. ii. 14. Eisner's 
Observ. vol. i. p. 128. Raphel. Observ. esc. Herod, in Matt, 
xxviii. 19. Glassii Op. 1. iii. Tract, ii. de pr. Can. xvi. p. 
521—526. 

2 Psal. cxix. 32. Phil. i. 6; ii. 13. 1 Cor. vii. 25; iii. 7; 

iv. 7 ; xv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 5. Heb. xiii 20, 21. 1. Pet. v. 10. 
Jude, ver. 24, 25. 

5 Deut xxiv. 4. Matt. xi. 25, 26. John, vi. 44, 45, 46 ; 
xii. 39, 40. Rom. ix. 18—23. 

4 Lime-street Lect. vol. ii. p. 242 — 245. Tillotson's Works, 
vol. ii. p. 80, 81. Limb. Theol. 1. iv. c. 14. § 4. 21. Brandt's 
Hist, of the Ref. vol. ii. p 75. Doddridge on Regen. Serm. vii. 
p. 221 — 23:i. Jortin's Six Dissertations, No. 1. AVarburton's 
Doctrine of Grace. Fost. Sermons, vol. ii. No. 5. praes. p. 
104, 105. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



91 



to the manner in which divine grace operates upon 
the mind, considering- how little it is we know of 
the nature and constitution of our own souls, and 
of the frame of nature around us, it is no wonder 
that it should be unaccountable to us. 1 Perhaps 
it may often be, by impelling the animal spirits or 
nerves, in such a manner as is proper to excite cer- 
tain ideas in the mind with a degree of vivacity, 
which they would not otherwise have had : by this 
means various passions are excited ; but the great 
motives addressed to gratitude and love seem ge- 
nerally, if not always, to operate upon the will 
more powerfully than any other, which many di- 
vines have therefore chosen to express by the phrase 
of delectatio victrix." 2 



SECTION XVIII. 



The Opinion of Soame Jenyns on the fundamental 
Principles of Christianity, 

" If Christianity is to be learned out of the New 
Testament, and words have any meaning affixed to 
them, the fundamental principles of it are these : — 



! John, iii. 8. 

* Compare Deut. xxx. 6. Psal. cxix. 16, 20, 32, 47, 48, 97, 
103. Psal. xix. 10, 11. Rom. vii. 22. 1 John, iv. 18, HJ. 
Rom. v. 5. Le Blanc's Thes. p. 527, § 53. Burn. Life of 
Roch. p. 43—51. Barclay's Apol. p. 148. Burn, on Art. p. 



92 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



" That mankind came into this world in a de- 
praved and fallen condition ; that they are placed 
here for a while, to give them an opportunity to 
work out their salvation ; that is, by a virtuous and 
pious life to purge off that guilt and depravity, and 
recover their lost state of happiness and innocence 
in a future life; that this they are unable to per- 
form without the grace and assistance of God ; and 
that, after their best endeavours, they cannot hope 
for pardon from their own merits, but only from 
the merits of Christ, and the atonement made for 
their transgressions by his sufferings and death. 
This is clearly the sum and substance of the Chris- 
tian dispensation ; and so adverse is it to all the prin- 
ciples of human reason, that if brought before her 
tribunal, it must inevitably be condemned. If we 
give no credit to its divine authority, any attempt 
to reconcile them is useless ; and, if we believe it, 
presumptuous in the highest degree. To prove the 
reasonableness of a revelation, is in fact to destroy 
it ; because a revelation implies information of 
something which reason cannot discover, and there- 
fore must be different from its deductions, or it 
would be no revelation." 

The opinion of a professed wit and man of 
fashion may have weight with those who are preju- 
diced against professional divines. It has been 
doubted by many whether Mr. Jenyns was a sin- 
cere Christian. I am inclined to believe that he 
was sincere. As, in recommending Christianity, 
" it is right to become all things to all men, that 

120. Whitby Comment, vol. ii. p. 289, 290. Scougal's 
Works, p. 6—10. Seed's Serm. vol. i. p. 291. Ridly on the 
Spirit, p. 210. King's Origin of Evil, p. 71, 376—380, fourth 
edition. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



93 



we may save some," his testimony is admitted in 
this place, though his lively manner of writing 
throws an air of levity on subjects, which, from 
their important nature, must always be considered 
as grave by all the partakers of mortality, who think 
justly and feel acutely. 



SECTION XIX. 

The opinion of Bishop Horsley on the prevalent neg- 
lect of teaching the peculiar doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, under the idea that moral duties constitute 
the whole or the better part of it. Among the pe- 
culiar doctrines is evidently included that of grace, 
which the Methodists inculcate, (as the bishop inti- 
mates,) not erroneously. 

Bishop Horsley has proved himself a mathemati- 
cian and philosopher of the first rank, as well as a 
divine. All his works display singular vigour of 
intellect. He cannot be suspected of weak super- 
stition or wild fanaticism. To the honour of Chris- 
tianity, the editor of Newton, as well as Newton 
himself, is a firm supporter of its most mysterious 
octrines. I desire the reader to weigh well the 
words of this able divine, as they were delivered in 
a charge to his clergy. 

" A maxim had been introduced," says he, te that 
the laity, the more illiterate especially, have little 
concern with the mysteries of revealed religion, 
provided they be attentive to its duties ; whence it 



94 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

hath seemed a safe and certain conclusion, that it 
is more the office of a Christian teacher to press the 
practice of religion upon the consciences of his 
hearers, than to inculcate and assert its doctrines. 

" Again, a dread of the pernicious tendency of 
some extravagant opinions, which persons more to 
be esteemed for the warmth of their piety than the 
soundness of their judgment, have grafted in mo- 
dern times, upon the doctrine of justification by 
faith, as it is stated in the 11th, 12th, and 13th of 
the Articles of our church, (which, however, is no 
private tenet of the church of England, but the 
common doctrine of all the first reformers, not to 
say that it is the very corner-stone of the whole 
system of redemption,) a dread of the pernicious 
tendency of those extravagant opinions, which 
seem to emancipate the believer from the authority 
of all moral law, hath given general credit to ano- 
ther maxim; which I never hear without extreme 
concern from the lips of a divine, either from the 
pulpit or in familiar conversation ; namely, that 
practical religion and morality are one and the 
same thing : that moral duties constitute the 
whole, or by far the better part, of practical Chris- 
tianity. 

" Both these maxims are erroneous. Both, so far 
as they are received, have a pernicious influence over 
the minisry of the word. The first most absurdly se- 
parates practice from the motives of practice. The 
second, adopting that separation, reduces practical 
Christianity to heathen virtue; and the two, taken 
together, have much contributed to divest our ser- 
monsof the genuine spirit and savour of Christianity, 
and to reduce them to mere moral essays : in which 
moral duties are enforced, not as indeed they might 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



95 



be to good purpose, by Scriptural motives, but by 
such arguments as no where appear to so much ad- 
vantage as in the writings of the heathen moral- 
ists, and are quite out of their place in a pulpit. 
The rules delivered may be observed to vary ac- 
cording to the temperament of the teacher. But 
the system chiefly in request, with those who seem 
the most in earnest in this strain of preaching, is 
the strict but impracticable, unsocial, sullen moral 
of the stoics. Thus, under the influence of these 
two pernicious maxims, it too often happens that 
we lose sight of that which is our proper office, to 
publish the word of reconciliation, to propound the 
terms of peace and pardon to the penitent, and we 
make no other use of the high commission that we 
bear, than to come abroad one day in the seven, 
dressed in solemn looks, and in the external garb 
of holiness, to be the apes of Epictetus. 

" The first of the two, which excludes the laity 
from all concern with the doctrinal part of religion, 
and directs the preacher to let the doctrine take its 
chance, and to turn the whole attention of his 
hearers to practice, must tacitly assume for its 
foundation (for it can stand upon no other foun- 
dation) this complex proposition : not only that 
the practice of religious duties is a far more excel- 
lent thing in the life of man, far more ornamental 
of the Christian profession, than any knowledge of 
the doctrine without the practice ; but, moreover, 
that men may be brought to the practice of religion 
without previous instructions in its doctrines ; or 
in other words, that faith and practice are, in their 
nature, separable things. Now the former branch 
of this double assumption, that virtue is a more ex- 
cellent thing in human life than knowledge, is un- 
questionably true, and a truth of great importance, 



96 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



which cannot be too frequently or too earnestly in- 
culcated. But the second branch of the assump- 
tion, that faith and practice are separable things, 
is a gross mistake, or rather a manifest contradic- 
tion. Practical holiness is the end ; faith is the 
means : and to suppose faith and practice sepa- 
rable, is to suppose the end attainable without the 
use of means. The direct contrary is the truth. 
The practice of religion will always thrive, in pro- 
portion as its doctrines are generally understood and 
firmly received ; and the practice will degenerate and 
decay, in proportion as the doctrine is misunderstood 
or neglected. It is true, therefore, that it is the great 
duty of a preacher of the gospel to press the practice 
of its precepts upon the consciences of men ; but 
then it is equally true, that it is his duty to enforce 
this practice in a particular way; namely, by in- 
culcating its doctrines. The motives which the re- 
vealed doctrines furnish, are the only motives he 
he has to do with, and the only motives by which 
religious duty can be effectually enforced. 

" I am aware, that it has been very much the 
fashion, to suppose a great want of capacity in the 
common people, to be carried any great length 
in religious knowledge, more than in the abstruse 
sciences. That the world and all things in it had 
a Maker; that the Maker of the world made man, 
and gave him the life which he now enjoys ; that 
he who first gave life, can at any time restore it ; 
that he can punish, in a future life, crimes which 
he suffers to be committed with impunity in this; 
some of these first principles of religion the vulgar, 
it is supposed, may be brought to comprehend. 
But the peculiar doctrines of revelation, the trinity 
of persons in the undivided Godhead ; the incar- 
nation of the second person ; the expiation of sin 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 97 

by the Redeemer's sufferings and death ; the effi- 
cacy of his intercession ; the mysterious commerce 
of the believer's soul with the divine Spirit ; these 
things are supposed to be far above their reach. 
If this were really the case, the condition of man 
would indeed be miserable, and the proffer of mer- 
cy, in the gospel, little better than a mockery of 
their woe ; for the consequence would be, that the 
common people could never be carried beyond the 
first principles of what is called natural religion. 
Of the efficacy of natural religion, as a rule of 
action, the world has had the long experience of 
sixteen hundred years. For so much was the inter- 
val between the institution of the Mosaic church, 
and the publication of the gospel. During that 
interval, certainly, if not from an earlier pe- 
riod, natural religion was left to try its powers on 
the heathen world. The result of the experiment 
is, that its powers are of no avail. Among the 
vulgar, natural religion never produced any effect 
at all; among the learned much of it is to be 
found in their writings, little in their lives. But if 
this natural religion, a thing of no practical effi- 
cacy, as experiment has demonstrated, be the ut- 
most of religion which the common people can re- 
ceive, then is our preaching vain, Christ died in 
vain, and man must still perish. Blessed be God ! 
the case is far otherwise. As we have, on the one 
side, experimental proof of the insignificance of what 
is called natural religion ; so, on the other, in the 
success of the first preachers of Christianity we 
have an experimental proof of the sufficiency of 
revealed religion to those very ends in which natu- 
ral religion failed. In their success we have expe- 

H 



98 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



rimental proof that there is nothing in the great 
mystery of godliness, which the vulgar, more than 
the learned, want capacity to apprehend, since, 
upon the first preaching of the gospel, the illite- 
rate, the scorn of pharisaical pride, who knew not 
the law, and were therefore deemed accursed, were 
the first to understand and to embrace the Christian 
doctrine. * * * * 

" An over-abundant zeal to check the frenzy 
of the Methodists, first introduced that unscriptu- 
ral language which confounds religion and mo- 
rality. * * * * The great crime and 
folly of the Methodists consists not so much in 
heterodoxy, as in fanaticism : not in perverse doc- 
trine, but rather in a disorderly zeal for the propa- 
gation of the truth. * * * * Reason, till 
she has been taught by the lively oracles of God, 
knows nothing of the spiritual life, and the food 
brought down from heaven for its sustenance." 

The bishop here intimates, that " our sermons 
are often divested of the genuine spirit and sa- 
vour of Christianity." If so, it is no wonder 
that our churches are forsaken and our religion 
despised. It is a fact, to which I have frequently 
been an eye-witness, that spacious churches in 
London, capable of containing thousands, are al- 
most empty, notwithstanding the preachers every- 
where inculcate excellent morality. Wherever 
indeed there appears, what the common people 
call, an evangelical preacher, the churches are 
so crowded, that it is difficult to gain admittance. 
The multitude hunger and thirst for the spiritual 
food ; yet evangelical preaching is discouraged 
by many in high places, because it is said to sa- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



99 



vour of enthusiasm and to delude the vulgar. 1 
But it is this preaching alone which will preserve 
Christianity among us, and cause it to be consi- 
dered as any thing better than a state-engine for 
the depression of the people. 



SECTION XX. 

The Church of England teaches the true Doctrine 
of Grace. 

In recommending to more general notice the doc- 
trine of grace, I make no pretensions to a new 
discovery. It is obviously the doctrine of the 

1 Erasmus was a consummate judge of preaching and 
preachers. Let us hear him. 

Doctos puto quotquot crediderunt evangelio. Cur enim in- 
docti debeant appellari, qui, (ut nihil aliud,) e symbolo aposto- 
lorum didicerunt illam ultramundanam philosophiam, quam 
non Pythagoras aut Plato, sed ipse Dei Filius tradidit homini- 
bus ; qui a Christo docti sunt, qua via ad quern felicitatis 
scopum tendere. Ubicunque est vera sanctitas, ibi est magna 
philosophia minimeque vulgaris eruditio. Sed tamen inter hos 
egregie doctos excellunt, quibus peculiari Spiritus munificentia 
datum est, ut ad justitiam erudiant multos ; quibus Dominus 
dedit labia, non in quibus ilia gentium ttslOwc flexanima, sed 
in quibus ex unctione Spiritus diffusa est gratia coelestis. Erasm. 
Eccles. — " Learned I deem all those who have believed the 
gospel. For why should they be called unlearned who (sup- 
posing they have learned nothing else) have learned from the 
Apostles' Creed that ultramundane philosophy, which neither a 
Pythagoras nor a Plato, but the Son of God himself, delivered 
to mankind ; who have learned from Christ the end they should 

H 2 



100 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



gospel ; it is obviously the doctrine of the church ; 
it is fully acknowledged by all who sincerely use 
that form of prayer, which is established by the 
authority not only of those who composed it, but 
of those, who ever since its composition, even to 
the present day, retain it in the divine service. 

Bishop Gibson, who was certainly a zealous 
friend to the Church of England, has collected a 
number of passages from the liturgy, to show that 
the public offices of the church are duly regardful 
of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. 

" In the daily service, we pray God to grant us 
true repentance and his Holy Spirit — to replenish 
the king with the grace of his Holy Spirit — to en- 
due the royal family with his Holy Spirit — to 
send down upon our bishops and curates, and 
all congregations committed to their charge, the 
healthful Spirit of his grace — that the catholic 
church may be guided and governed by his good 
Spirit, and that the fellowship of the Holy Ghost 
may be ever with us. 

" In the Litany we pray that God will illumi- 
nate all bishops, priests, and deacons with the true 
knowledge and understanding of his word — will 
endue us with the grace of his Holy Spirit, and 
that we may all bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. 

" In the Collects we pray that God will grant us 
the true circumcision of the Spirit, that our hearts 

pursue, and the way to pursue it ? Wherever true holiness ex- 
ists, there also exists great philosophy, and no common kind and 
degree of erudition. 

u But yet among persons thus excellently learned, those are 
pre-eminent to whom it is given, by the Spirit's bountiful mercy, 
to instruct many in the ways of righteousness ; on whom God 
has bestowed lips, not adorned with the meretricious arts of 
heathen eloquence, but richly furnished, by the unction of the 
Spirit, with heavenly grace." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



101 



and all our members being mortified from all 
worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things 
obey his blessed will — that God will send bis Holy 
Ghost, and pour into our hearts the most excellent 
gift of charity — -that we may ever obey the godly 
motions of the Spirit in righteousness and true ho- 
liness — that by his holy inspiration we may think 
those things that be good, and by his merciful 
guiding may perform the same — that God will not 
leave us comfortless, but send to us his Holy Ghost 
to comfort us — that by his Spirit we may have a 
right judgment in all things, and evermore re- 
joice in his holy comfort — that his Holy Spirit 
may in all things direct and rule our hearts — that 
he will cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the 
inspiration of his Holy Spirit. 

" In the Office for Confirmation, we pray for the 
persons to be confirmed, that God will strengthen 
them with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and 
daily increase in them his manifold gifts of grace, 
the spirit of w T isdom and understanding, the spirit 
of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of know- 
ledge and true godliness — that he will fill them 
with the spirit of his holy fear — and that they may 
daily increase in his Holy Spirit more and more." 

The articles of original sin, free-will, and justi- 
fication, evince that the Church of England main- 
tains the doctrine of light, sanctity, and life, deriv- 
able from the operation of the Holy G host. And 
there is a curious passage in a book, written by 
archbishop Cranmer and the Committee of Di- 
vines, entitled " Necessary Erudition for a Chris- 
tian Man," which fully declares, that, " besides 
many other evils that came by the fall of man, the 
high power of man's reason and freedom of will 



102 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



were wounded and corrupted ; and all men thereby- 
brought into such blindness and infirmity, that 
they cannot eschew sin, except they be illuminated 
and made free by an especial grace, that is to say, 
by supernatural help and working of the Holy 
Ghost." 1 

There can be no doubt, in the mind of an im- 
partial inquirer, that the church teaches the doc- 
trine of supernatural influence in plain and strong 
terms ; and that it derives it from the holy Scrip- 
tures. " For it is by the Spirit of wisdom that 
our understandings are enlightened : it is by the 
Spirit that we are rooted and grounded in love, 
and that our souls are purified in obeying the 
truth ; it is by the Spirit that we are called unto li- 
berty; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
liberty ; in a word, it is by the Spirit that all our 
infirmities are helped, and that we are strengthened 
with might in the inner man." 2 

" Without me," says Christ, " ye can do no- 
thing." Our blessed Saviour opened the un- 
derstandings of his disciples, that they might 
understand the Scriptures. The Lord opened the 
heart of Lydia, that she attended to the things 
that were spoken of Paul. The natural man re- 
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for 
they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fa- 
ther of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of 

1 This book was published by Henry VIII. 1543, and ap- 
proved by the Lords spiritual and temporal and the lower 
House of Parliament. 

2 Eph. i. 17. 1 Pet. i.22. Gal. v. 13. 2 Cor. iii. 17. Rom. 
viii. 26. Ephes. iii. 16, 17- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



103 



wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of him, 
that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, 
and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance 
in the saints. For God, who commanded the 
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our 
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.— No 
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the 
Holy Ghost. — For by grace ye are saved through 
faith ; and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of 
God. 1 

If there be meaning in words, these passages 
evince the reality and necessity of internal illumi- 
nation from the great fountain of light. And what 
says the homily of the church ? u In reading of 
God's word, he most profiteth, not always that is 
most ready in turning of the book, or in say- 
ing of it without the book, but he that is most 
turned into it, that is, most inspired with the Holy 
Ghost" In the same homily, a passage from 
Chrysostom is quoted to the following purport : 
" Man's human and worldly wisdom and science 
is not needful to the understanding of Scripture, 
but the revelation of the Holy Ghost, who in- 
spireth the true meaning unto them that with hu- 
mility and diligence do seek therefore." 

In the ordination office, the bishop says to the 
candidates for priests orders, " Ye cannot have a 
mind or will thereto of yourselves, for the will 
and ability is given of God alone. Therefore ye 
ought and have need to pray earnestly for the 
Holy Spirit. You will continually pray to God 

1 John, xv. 5. Acts, xvi. 14. Ephes. i. 17, 18. I Cor. 
xii. 3. Luke, xxiv. 45. 1 Cor. ii. 14. 2 Cor. iv. 6. 



104 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour 
Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the 
Holy Ghost." 

A great number of citations might be brought 
to prove that the doctrine of grace or supernatural 
assistance is established by the church in exact 
conformity to the Scriptures; 1 but it is not neces- 
sary to insist on a truth which is evident to every 
one who reads the Common-prayer Book and the 
Bible. 



SECTION XXI. 

On the Means of obtaining the Evidence of Chris- 
tianity, afforded by the Holy Spirit. 

I now come to the most important part of my 
subject. I have produced, as I intended, the un- 
exceptionable authority of great and good men, 
most eminent divines, to countenance and sup- 
port me in recommending, above all other evi- 
dence, the evidence of the Holy Ghost, to the truth 
of Christianity. After the suffrages of such men 
in favour of this sublime doctrine, no man can 
justly call it heterodox or improperly enthusiasti- 

1 It never can be consistent with the character of an honest 
man solemnly to subscribe to the doctrines of grace, seriously to 
pray in the church for divine influence, and then to teach and 
preach against the whole doctrine. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



105 



cal. I could indeed cite many other most respect- 
able authorities; but I have already exceeded the 
just limits of quotation. It now remains to point 
out the means of obtaining this evidence. 

Faith is the gift of God. 1 To the Giver only 
it belongs to prescribe the means of obtaining his 
bounty. He has prescribed the written word and 
prayer. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
by the word of God. 2 But the whole tenour of 
the gospel proves, that the written word has not 
efficacy of itself to convince our understandings, 
nor reform our hearts ; to produce either faith in 
God or repentance from dead works, without the 
aid of the Holy Ghost. 

Now the aid of the Holy Ghost is promised to 
prayer : " If ye," says our Saviour, " being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall God give the Holy Spirit to 
them that ask him ?" 

The Holy Spirit, it appears from this passage, 
is the best gift which the best, wisest, and most 
powerful of beings can bestow, and he has pro- 
mised it those who ask it with faith and humility. 
An easy condition of obtaining the greatest com- 
fort of which the heart of man is capable, toge- 
ther with full evidence of the truth of Christi- 
anity. 

But do the inquirers into the truth of Christi- 
anity seek its evidence in this manner ? Do they 
fall on their knees, and lift up their hearts in sup- 
plication ? It appears rather that they trust to 
their own power, than to the power of God. They 
take down their folios, they have recourse to their 



1 Eph. ii. 8. 



1 Bom. x. 7. 



106 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



logic, their metaphysics, nay even their mathema- 
tics, 1 and examine the mere historical and exter- 
nal evidence with the eyes of criticism and heathen 
philosophy. The unbelievers, on the other hand, 
do the same ; and, as far as wit and subtle rea- 
soning goes, there are many who think that a Tin- - 
dal and a Collins were more than equal to a 
Clarke and a Coneybeare. There is no doubt but 
that infidelity is diffused by theological contro- 
versy, whenever the illumination of the Spirit, the 
sanctity of the gospel, is entirely laid aside, and 
the whole cause left to the decision of human wit 
and invention. 

He that would be a Christian indeed, and not 
merely a disputant or talker about Christianity, 
must seek better evidence than man, short-sighted 
as he is with the most improved sagacity, igno- 
rant as he is with the deepest learning, can by 
any means afford. He must, in the words of the 
Psalmist " open his mouth and draw in the 
Spirit." 2 The Holy Ghost will give him the Spirit 
of supplication, 3 which will breathe out in prayer, 
and inhale from him who first inspired the divine 
particle/ fresh supplies of grace. He must con- 
tinue instant in prayer. This will preserve his 
mind in a state fit to receive the holy visitant from 
on high, who brings with him balsam for the heart, 
and light for the understanding. The result will 
be full evidence of Christianity, full confidence in 
Jesus Christ, joy and peace on earth, and a lively 
hope of salvation. What a sunshine must a mind 

1 See Ditton, Baxter, Huet, and many others, who undertake 
to demonstrate, almost geometrically, the truth of the gospel. 

2 Psalm cxix. 131. 3 Zach. xii. 10. 
4 Divinas particulam aurse. Hor. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



107 



in such a state enjoy : how different from the 
gloominess of the sceptic or unbeliever ; how su- 
perior to the coldness of the mere disputant in 
scholastic or sophistical divinity ! 

With respect to the efficacy of prayer in bring- 
ing down the assistance, the illumination of the 
Holy Ghost, not merely in teaching doctrinal 
notions, but in the actual conduct of life, let us 
hear the declaration of lord chief justice Hale, 
whose example I select, because he was a layman, 
a man deeply conversant in the business of the 
world, a great lawyer, and therefore may contri- 
bute to prove, that they who value themselves on 
their worldly sagacity, and frequently consider the 
affairs of religion as trifles, compared with the con- 
tests for property and the concerns of jurispru- 
dence, need not, in the most active life and most 
exalted stations, be ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ. 

" I can call," says he, " my own experience to 
witness, that even in the external actions, occur- 
rences, and incidents of my whole life, I was never 
disappointed of the best guidance and direction, 
when in humility, and a sense of deficiency, and 
diffidence of my own ability to direct myself, or to 
grapple with the difficulties of my own life, I have 
implored the secret guidance of the divine Wis- 
dom and Providence." 



108 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXII. 

Temperance necessary to the reception and conti- 
nuance of the Holy Spirit in the heart ; and con- 
sequently to the Evidence of Christianity afforded 
by Divine Illumination, 

The apostle says, ' Be not drunk with wine, wherein 
is excess ; but be filled with the Spirit' 1 The word 
aviOTta in the original, here rendered excess, cor- 
responds with the Latin prodigalitas, which, in the 
Roman law, characterized the spendthrift and de- 
bauchee, incapable, from his vices, of managing 
his own affairs, and therefore placed by the praetor 
under the guardianship of trustees, without whose 
concurrence he could perform no legal act. 2 He 
was considered as an infant and an idiot. The 
words of the apostle may then be thus paraphrased. 
" Be not intemperate in wine, because intempe- 
rance will destroy your reason, and degrade you to 
a state of infantine imbecility, without infantine 
innocence; but be filled witht he Spirit;" that is, 
" let your reason be exalted, purified, clarified to the 
highest state, by the co-operation of the divine rea- 
son, which cannot be, if you destroy the natural 
faculties which God has given you, by drunken- 
ness and gluttony." 

I think it evident, from this passage, as well as 
from the conclusions of reason, that all excess tends 
to exclude the radiance of grace. The mental eye 



1 Eph. v. 18. 2 See Dr. Powers Sermon on the text. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



109 



is weakened by it, and cannot bear the celestial 
lustre. 1 

That great master of reasoning, Aristotle, main- 
tained that pleasures are corruptive of principles ; 
(tySapriicai tcov apx^v ;) and many of the ancients 
were of opinion, that vice disqualified for philo- 
sophical pursuits, where the object was merely ter- 
restrial and human, by raising a thick cloud round 
the understanding, which the rays of truth could 
not penetrate. It was for this reason that one of 
them maintained that juvenis non est idoneus moralis 
pliilosophice auditor ; that though youth is most in 
want of moral instruction, yet, from the violence of 
its passions, and its usual immersion in sensuality, 
it was the least qualified to comprehend, he does 
not say to adopt or follow, but even to understand, 
the doctrines of moral philosophy. 

One of our own philosophers, 2 who in many 
respects equalled the ancients, justly observes, 
" That anger, impatience, admiration of persons, or 
a pusillanimous over-estimation of them, desire of 
victory more than of truth, too close an attention 
to the things of this world, as riches, power, digni- 
ties, immersion of the mind into the body, and the 
slaking of that noble and divine fire 3 of the soul by 
intemperance and luxury ; all these are very great 

1 Qo"7T£p 0(p9a\[jLa) Xrjfjuovn, Kai ov KeKaOapfjLevu), ra Gcpodpa 
(pwreiva ideiv ovk olovts' ovtuj Kai rr] ^v%ri jit) rrjv aperrjv 
KEKTrjuevri, to ty]q aXrjOeiag evoTrrpMjcurSraL KaWog. "As it is 
impossible for an eye, labouring under a malady which causes a 
deduction, to see clearly any very bright and brilliant object, till 
the impurity is removed ; so it is with the mind, unpossessed of 
virtue, to reflect the beautiful image of truth." — Hierocles, in 
Prasf. ad Pythag. 

i Dr. Henry More. 

3 Igneus ille vigor : u that energy resembling fire. 



110 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



enemies to all manner of knowledge, as well na- 
tural as divine." 

I therefore earnestly recommend it to every se- 
rious man, who wishes to be convinced of Christi- 
anity, to consider it in the morning, 1 before either 
the cares of the world, or the fumes of that intem- 
perance 2 which conviviality sometimes occasions, 
blunt the feelings of the heart, and spread a film 
over the visual nerve of the mental eye. 3 



SECTION XXIII. 

On improving Afflictions duly, as a Means of Grace 
and belief in the Gospel. 

A celebrated divine, 4 on his recovery from a se- 
vere fit of sickness, is reported to have said, " I 

1 Those that seek me early {mane) shall find me. Pro v. viii. 

~ Si praeceptor, homo, gravatur homini disciplinam humanam 
committere, puta dialecticen aut arithmeticen, somnolento, osci- 
tanti, aut crapula gravato ; quanto magis sapientia cceletis de- 
dignabitur loqui voluptatum hujus mundi amore temulentis, 
ccelestium rerum neglectu, nauseantibus ? Erasmus. — " If a 
preceptor, a mere man, hesitates to give merely human instruc- 
tion ; for instance, lectures on logic or arithmetic, to a pupil 
who is drowsy, who yawns, or who is sick with the intemperance 
of yesterday ; how much more will the heavenly wisdom dis- 
dain to speak with those who are drunk with the pleasures of 
the world, and who, from a total neglect of heavenly things, 
sicken at the mention of them ? 

3 Verum haec impransus. Hor. — " These let him learn be- 
fore the fumes of indigestion cloud over the faculties." 

4 Oecolampadius, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Ill 



have learned, under this sickness, to know sin and 
God." He had studied divinity, during many 
years, with great attention; he had prayed and 
preached with great ardour ; yet he acknowledges, 
that till the affliction of sickness visited him, he 
was unacquainted with those important subjects, sin 
and God ; subjects which he had so frequently con- 
sidered in private, and discoursed upon before an 
admiring audience. 

6 It is good for me that I have been afflicted/ 
said one, who had sinned egregiously in his pros- 
perous days, and who was rendered wise by afflic- 
tion. 

Afflictions, if suffered to have their perfect work, 
will certainly become the means of grace, cause 
belief in the consolatory gospel, and ultimately 
lead to salvation. The wandering mind returns, 
like the prodigal son, when under the pressure of 
distress, to the bosom of its father. The kind father 
goes forth to meet it on its return, and the inter- 
view happily terminates in perfect love and recon- 
ciliation. 

More have been convinced of the truth of Chris- 
tianity by a severe illness, a great loss, a disap- 
pointment, 1 or the death of one whom the soul 

1 Le moment de la grace, c'est une humiliation que Dieu 
vous envoie, et qui vous eloigne du monde, parceque vous n'y 
pouvez plus paroitre avec honneur. C'est la disgrace d'un 
maitre a qui une lache complaisance vous faisoit en mille ren- 
contres sacrifier les interets de votre conscience ; le changement 
d'un ami dont le commerce trop frequent vous entrainoit dans le 
vice et vous y entretenoit. C'est une perte de biens, une maladie, 
un chagrin domestique, ou etranger ; ce sont des souffrances ; 
tout, hors Dieu, devient amer ; on ne trouve plus de consolation 
que dans lui ; et rebut^ des choses humaines, on commence a 

gouter les choses du ceil. Bretonneau " The season of grace 

is, when God sends you some humiliating affliction, which with- 



112 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



loved, than by all the defences, proofs, and apolo- 
gies which have ever been produced in the most 
celebrated schools of theology. The heart was 
opened, and rendered soft and susceptible by 
sorrow, and the dew of divine grace enabled to find 
its way to the latent seeds of Christian virtue. 

Such being the beneficial effect of afflictions, it 
is much to be lamented, that many will not suffer 
them to operate favourably on their dispositions, 
and thus counteract, by the good they may ulti- 
mately produce, the pain which they immediately 
inflict. They fly from solitude, they banish re- 
flection. They drink the cup of intoxication, or 
seek the no less inebriating draught of dissipating 
pleasure. Thus they lose one of the most favour- 
able opportunities of receiving those divine impres- 
sions which would give them comfort under their 
afflictions, such as the world cannot give ; and 
afford them such conviction as would render them 
Christians indeed, and lead to all those beneficial 
consequences of faith, which are plainly repre- 
sented in the Scripture. 

draws you from the world, because you can no longer appear in 
it with honour. It is some disgrace thrown upon you by a mas- 
ter, to whom a base obsequiousness led you, in a thousand strug- 
gles, to sacrifice the interests of your conscience. It is the 
alienation of a friend, your connection with whom too often led 
you into the snares of vice, and kept you there. It is the loss of 
property, it is a disease, an uneasiness either domestic or from 
without ; it is a state of suffering, when every thing, but God, 
becomes bitter to a man, when he finds no consolation but within 
himself ; and when, disgusted with the vanity and vexation of 
human affairs, he begins to taste the sweetness of things hea- 
venly." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



113 



SECTION XXIV. 

On Devotion — a Means, as well as an Effect, of 
Grace — no sincere Religion can subsist without it. 

Many theologists, who have written with the acute- 
ness of an Aristotle, and the acrimony of a Juvenal, 
against all sorts of infidels and heretics, in defence 
of Christianity, seem to have forgotten one very 
material part of religion — that which consists of 
devotional sentiment, and the natural fervours of a 
sincere piety. Some of them seem to reprobate, 
and hold them in abhorrence. They inveigh 
against them as enthusiasm; they laugh at them 
as the cant of hypocrisy. Such men have the 
coldness of bishop Butler, without the ingenuity; 
the contentious spirit of Dr. Bentley, without the 
wit or erudition. 

True religion cannot exist without a considerable 
degree of devotion. On what is true religion 
founded but on love — the love of God, and the love 
of our neighbour ? And with respect to the love 
of God, what says our Saviour ? Thou shall love 
the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all 
thy strength. No language can more expressly 
and emphatically describe the ardour of devotion. 
Out of the heart the mouth speaketh. If the 
heart feels the love of God, in the degree which 
our Saviour requires, the language of prayer and 
thanksgiving will be always glowing, and, on extra- 
ordinary occasions, even rapturous. 

] 



114 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



The ( effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man 
availeth much:' if it be not fervent, it cannot be 
sincere, and therefore cannot be expected to avail. 
Love must add wings to prayer, to waft it to the 
throne of grace. 

" Man has a principle of love implanted in his 
nature, a magnetism of passion, 1 by which he con- 
stantly attaches himself to that which appears to 
him good and beautiful; and what so good, what 
so beautiful, as the archetype and model of all 
excellence ? Shall he conceive the image, and 
not be charmed with its loveliness ? 

Worship or adoration implies lively affection. 
If it be cold, it is a mere mockery, a formal com- 
pliance with customs for the sake of decency. It 
is a lip-service, of which knaves, hypocrites, and 
infidels are capable, and which they render, for the 
sake of temporal advantage. 

Will any man condemn the ardour which the 
Scriptures themselves exhibit ? Must they not be 
allowed to afford a model for imitation ? And are 
they written in the cold, dull style of an academi- 
cal professor, lecturing in the schools of divinity ? 
No; they are written in warm, animated, metapho- 
rical, and poetical language ; not with the precision 
of the schoolmen ; not with the dryness of sys- 
tem-makers ; but with florid, rhetorical, impas- 
sioned appeals to the feelings and imagination. 
What are psalms, but the ebullitions of passion, 
sorrow, joy, love, and gratitude ? 

The truth is, that the most important subject 
which can be considered by man must, if considered 
with seriousness and sincerity, excite a warm in- 



1 N orris. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



115 



terest. The fire of devotion may not, indeed, be 
equally supported, because such equability is not 
consistent with the constitution of human nature; 
but it will, for the most part, burn with a clear and 
steady flame, and will certainly, at no time, and 
in no circumstances, be utterly extinguished. 

Where the heart is deeply interested, there will 
be eagerness and agitation. Suppose a man, who 
speaks, in the church, of the Holy Ghost and other 
most important religious subjects with perfect sang 
froid, repairing to the stock-exchange, and just 
going to make a purchase. The price fluctuates. 
Observe how he listens to his brokers reports. His 
cheeks redden and his eyes sparkle. Here he is in 
earnest. Nature betrays his emotion. It is not un- 
charitable to conclude that his heart is literally 
with his treasure ; and that with respect to the 
riches of divine grace, he values them little ; and, 
like Gallio, careth for none of these things. View 
him again, at a great man's levee, and see with 
what awe he eyes a patron. His attention ap- 
proaches to adoration. He is tremblingly soli- 
citous to please, and would undergo any painful 
restraint, rather than give the slightest offence. 
The world will not condemn, but applaud his 
anxiety ; yet, if he is earnest and fervent, when his 
interest is infinitely greater, in securing the tran- 
quillity of his mind, under all the changes and 
chances of life, he is despised as an enthusiast, a 
bigot, a fool, or a madman. 

A man of sense and true goodness will certainly 
take care not to make an ostentation of his devo- 
tional feelings ; but at the same time he will beware 
of suppressing, in his endeavour to moderate and 
conceal them. 

i 2 



116 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

He will never forget, that the same sun which 
emits light, gives, at the same time, a genial heat, 
that enlivens and cherishes all nature. 



SECTION XXV. 

On Divine Attraction, 

Shall we believe our Saviour himself, or some 
poor mortal, who has learned a little Greek, Latin, 
or Hebrew, and upon the strength of his scanty 
knowledge of those languages, and a little verbal 
criticism, picked up in the schools of an university, 
assumes the pen of a controversialist, and denies 
the evident meaning of words plainly and empha- 
tically spoken by Jesus Christ ? Our Saviour says, 
in language particularly direct, ' No man can 
come unto me, except the Father, which hath sent 
me, draw him.' 

Faustus Regiensis, Wolzogenius, Brenius, Slich- 
tingius, Sykes, Whitby, Clarke, and many others, 
endeavour to explain away the meaning of the word 
' draw,' (ekKwr),) because they have taken a side in 
the polemics of theology, against the doctrine of 
divine grace. 

But what have we to do with Faustus, Wolzo- 
genius, Slichtingius, and the rest, when we have 
before us the words of Jesus Christ P By them it 
appears that there is an attraction in the spiritual 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



117 



world as well as the natural ; and that the Spirit of 
God, a benign philanthropic Spirit, unites itself to 
the soul of man, and communicates to it comfort, 
sanctity, and illumination. 

Men do not controvert the received systems of 
natural philosophy. They believe in the attrac- 
tion of gravitation, cohesion, magnetism, and elec- 
tricity. But in this there is no visible agency, no 
sensible efflux, influx, or impulse. Yet they be- 
lieve it, and certainly with reason ; but why should 
they think that God acts thus on matter, compara- 
tively vile, and leaves mind uninfluenced ? Mind, 
that pure, etherial essence, which must be said to 
approach in its nature to divinity, (if man can 
conceive any thing of divine,) and which has an 
inborn tendency to assimilate with its like. 

God, we are told in Scripture, is love. But love 
always attaches itself to its object. It is not com- 
patible with love to be selfish and solitary. It de- 
lights in assimilation. The Spirit of that God who 
is love, still unites itself with man, for whom it 
has already shown so much affectionate regard, in 
the creation and redemption. It could not be con- 
sistent with the love and mercy of God to man, to 
leave him entirely, for ages, without any inter- 
course, any light, any communication, but a writ- 
ten word, in a language unknown, unread by 
many, and which, without divine interposition, 
might be corrupted by the wickedness of man, or 
lost by his negligence. God's Spirit, acting upon 
the soul of man, at this hour and for ever, is a 
living, energetic, and everlasting gospel. The pro- 
mise of God's assistance by his Spirit, (as St. Peter 
assured the first converts to Christianity,) was unto 
them, and unto their children, and to all that were 



118' 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



afar off, their successors to the remotest ages, 
' even to as many as the Lord their God should 
call.' 1 

Man must be attracted to God by the spirit of 
love in the divine nature, or else he ceases to be in 
the Christian system ; and what may be the conse- 
quence to the soul in its aberration, is known only 
to him who knoweth all things. But surely every 
thinking mortal will gladly follow the divine at- 
traction, since it gradually draws him from this low 
vale, where sin and sorrow abound, up to the 
realms of bliss eternal ; and affords him, during his 
earthly pilgrimage, the sweetest solace. 

The human soul assimilating with the divine, is 
the drop of water gravitating to the ocean, from 
which it was originally separated ; and cohering 
with it as soon as it comes within the sphere of its 
attraction; it is the child clinging to the bosom of 
its parent; it is the wandering, weary exile hasten- 
ing with joy to his native home. Let us endea- 
vour to cherish an inclination for reunion ; let us 
follow all the known means of accomplishing it, and 
it will be finally and completely effected by the 
Holy Ghost, the Spirit of love. * 

1 Acts, ii. 39. 

2 Let us hear a heathen philosopher speak on the union be- 
tween God and good men : " Inter bonos viros ac Deum, ami- 
citia est, conciliante virtute ; amicitiam dico ? etiam necessitudo 
et similitudo." Seneca. — " Between good men and God there 
subsists a friendship, under the mediation of virtue; a friendship 
do I say ? It is more. It is an intimate union and resemblance." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



119 



SECTION XXVI. 

On the Difficulties of the Scripture. 

In his solis Uteris et quod non assequor, tamen adoro. 1 

Erasmus. 

If there is any thing in human affairs to be ap- 
proached with awe, and viewed with veneration, 
it is the written word of revelation. Acknow- 
ledged sanctity and long duration combine to 
throw an air of divinity around it. It is worthy 
to be kept in the holy of holies. But I cannot 
agree with those zealous votaries who pretend 
either that there are no difficulties in it, or that 
they are all removable by the light of learn- 
ing. I confess that criticism has removed many 
difficulties; but I am convinced that many still 
remain, which, I fear, will never give way to hu- 
man sagacity. There they must remain, with all 
the majesty of clouds and darkness around them, 
till the Sun of righteousness shall appear in his 
full glory. 

But shall difficulties cause disbelief ? Are there 
then no difficulties in human nature, as well as in 
the world of grace ? I cannot step into the gar- 
den or the meadow ; I cannot cast my eyes to the 
horizon, without encountering difficulties. Yet T 
believe the existence of the things I see there, and 
I am led from the observation of general good, 
mixed with partial evil, to conclude, that verily 

1 " In this part of literature alone, even what I do not under- 
stand, I yet revere." 



120 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



there is a God. I conclude in the same manner, 
from what I do understand and know to be good 
in the gospel, that verily Jesus is the Christ; and 
that the parts of the gospel which I do not com- 
prehend, are good, because those which I am able 
to understand are so beyond all doubt and com- 
parison. 

All that is necessary to my happiness in the 
gospel is sufficiently clear. I learn there that the 
Holy Ghost is vouchsafed to me and to all men, 
now and till time shall be no more. This I con- 
sider as the living gospel. This supplies all de- 
fects, if any there should be, in the written word ; 
and the dark and unintelligible parts of the gos- 
pel, surrounded by celestial radiance, become like 
spots in the sun, which neither deform its beauty* 
nor diminish its lustre. I regard them not there- 
fore; I bow to them with reverence, as to sacred 
things upon the altar, covered with a veil from 
the eyes of mortal or profane intrusion. It is 
enough that I have learned in the gospel many 
moral truths, and this one great truth, that God 
Almighty, at this moment, pours an emanation of 
himself into the souls of all who seek the glorious 
gift by fervent prayer, and endeavour to retain it 
by obedience to his will. It is enough : why need 
I perplex my understanding with searching into 
those secret things which belong unto the Lord ; 
or acquire a minute, cavilling habit, which can ne- 
ver discover any thing of more importance than 
that which I already know; but which, if indulged 
presumptuously, may lead me to scepticism, and 
terminate in infidelity ? Some parts of the holy 
volume are sealed : I will not attempt to burst 
it open ; or vainly conjecture what these parts 
conceal. I will wait with patience and humility 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



121 



for God's good time. In the meantime I will re- 
joice; and my flesh shall rest in hope; because I 
have been admitted to inspect the book, and have 
learned that the Spirit still attends the written 
word, ministering" at this hour, and illuminating, 
with the lamp of Heaven, whatever darkness over- 
shadows the path of life. 

This persuasion adds new glory to the written 
gospel. It throws a heavenly lustre over the page. 
It is not left alone to effect the great purpose of 
men's recovery; so that whatever difficulties or 
defects it may be allowed to retain, by the wise 
providence of God, the difficulties will be re- 
moved, and the defects supplied, so far as to ac- 
complish the great end, by the operation of the 
Holy Ghost, which accompanies it in its progress 
down the stream of time, like the pillar of fire, at- 
tending the children of Israel. 1 

1 0(701 VIOl £1(71 TOV (plOTOQ KCU T7]Q SldKOVlClQ T7]Q KCCLViyg 

dia^rjKrjg ev toj i KVtv\iari ayiu) y 9E0AIAAKT0I EISIN* avri] 
yap rj X a P l G £7rtyp«0£t ev ra'ig icapdiaig avriov rovg vopovg 
rov Tcvtvfxarog' ovk otptikovaiv ovv eig rag ypa<pag fxovov rag 
$ia peXavog yeypafifievag TrXrjpotyopaiSai, aWa /cat tig rag 
TrXaKag rrjg icapdiag rj %apt£ rov Qeov eyypatyei rovg vofiovg 
tov 7rvev[iaTOQ Kai ra tirovpavia \ivzr\pia. — " As many as 
are the sons of the light, and of the ministration of the New 
Testament in the Holy Spirit, are taught of God ; for grace 
itself inscribes upon their hearts the laws of the Spirit. They 
are not therefore indebted to the Scriptures only, the word writ- 
ten with ink, for their Christian perfection ; but the grace of 
God writes upon the tablet of their hearts the laws of the Spirit, 
and the mysteries of Heaven." Marcarius in Homil. 15. 



122 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXVII. 

The Omnipresence of God a Doctrine universally 
allowed; but how is God every where present but 
by his Spirit, which is the Holy Ghost P 

Ovcev Qsojv kevov^ — Marc. Antonin. 

They who maintain, if there be any such, that 
God, having, about eighteen hundred years ago, 
signified his will to mankind, has ever since that 
time withdrawn his agency from the human mind, 
do, in effect, deny the omnipresence, and with it 
the omniscience, providence, and goodness of the 
Deity. But what say the Scriptures ? ' He is not 
far from every one of us ; for in him we live, and 
move, and have our being:-.' 2 

But is it to be believed, that when he is thus 
intimately present with us, he either cannot, or 
will not, influence our sentiments? Why is he 
thus present ? or why should he confine his agency 
over us to a little book, in a foreign and dead 
language, which many never see at all, which more 
cannot read, and which few can perfectly under- 
stand ; and concerning the literal meaning of the 
most important doctrinal parts of which, the most 
learned and judicious are to this hour divided in 
opinion ? 

The heathens 3 had more enlarged and worthier 

1 " Nothing is without Deity." 

2 Acts, xvii. 27. 

3 Ipse Deus humano generi ministrat ; ubique et omnibus 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



123 



ideas of the divine nature. They indeed be- 
lieved in supernatural agency on the mind of 
man; though they disgraced their belief by the 
absurdities of polytheism. Every part of the uni- 
verse was peopled by them with supernatural 
agents, and the most distinguished among them 
believed their virtuous sentiments inspired, and 
their good actions directed by a tutelar deity. I 
dwell not upon the instance of Socrates's demon; 1 

praesto est. — u God himself administers to the human race ; he 
is present every where, and to every man. Seneca Epist. 

Quocunque te flexeris, ibi ilium videbis occurrentem tibi . 
Nihil ab illo vacat. Opus suum ipse implet. — " Whichever 
way you turn, you will meet God. Nothing is without him. 
He fills his own work completely." Senec. de Benefic. lib. iv. 
cap. 8. 

1 It is worth while, however, to insert the following fine pas- 
sage from Plato, in which Socrates asserts the necessity of super- 
natural agency, in removing a dark cloud from the human mind, 
previously to its being able to learn how to regulate conduct, 
either towards gods or men. Reason, till this dark cloud 
should be removed by divine Providence, he thought incapable 
of discovering either moral or divine truth with certainty. 

S. 'AvayKcdov &v e^t iTEpi\iEVEiv sloq av Tig fidOr} cjg Sei 
TiQog QtHQ /cat Trpbg dvOpwrrsg diciiCELcrSai. A. Hots 
Traps^ai 6 xpovog &rog, to 'E.ojKpareg ; /cat rig u Traidavcriov - 
SQKP. Ovrog e^lv w fisXei TTEpl crS. dXXd Sokel poi, w<j7rep 
rip AwfjL))deL (prjcri ti)v 'AOrjvav "Ojjirjpog dirb t&v dtyOaXiiiov 
atyeXeiv ty\v 'AKAY'N, 

'O^p Iv yiyvuxTKOi rjjjLEv Qebv t)ce /cat avdpa, 
htoj Kal (78 SeTv dirb Trig "^ V XVQ ttqwtov d^eXovra rr)v 
'ATCAYN, r\ vvv tcclqhgcl rvyx&vai, Trjvacavr' fjdt] irpoG- 
(bkpEiv di 0)v [ikXXeig yviOGEvQai i}\ilv " icaicbv rjdh Kal 
egOXov" vvv fiev yap sk ev fiot doicrjg 8vvi]9Eivai. Platonis 
Alcibiades II. prope finem. (Socrates and Alcibiades dis- 
course.) 

" S. It is necessary then to wait till one is informed how 
one ought to behave, both in religious and social duties, to God 
and to men. — A. Oh ! Socrates, when will that time come, and 
who shall teach me ? — S. Even he who careth for you ; but it 
appears to me, as Homer represents Minerva removing a dark 
cloud from the eyes of Diomed, that he might distinguish gods 
from men in the battle, so he who careth for you must first re- 
move the dark cloud from your mind, which now hangs over it, 



124 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and I only mention the topic, to prove that the 
doctrine is not likely to be very unreasonable, 
since it was maintained by men who are acknow- 
ledged to have been singularly endowed with the 
rational faculty. 

The omnipotence, omnipresence, and omnisci- 
ence of God were strenuously maintained, not only 
by the wisest of the heathens, but the most learned 
and rational Christian divines ; among whom was 
Dr. Samuel Clarke, a man by constitution and stu- 
dies, as far removed from enthusiasm as it is possible 
to conceive. But the omnipresence of God being 
allowed as a true doctrine, it will not be difficult to 
believe his agency on the human mind by su- 
pernatural impression. The difficulty would be to 
believe that the divine Spirit could be present 
always and every where with us, and yet never act 
upon us, but leave the moral world, after the writ- 
ing of the New Testament, to depend on the fidelity 
of translations, the interpretations of fallible men, 
the preaching and teaching of scholars, deriving 
all they know from dictionaries, and differing con- 
tinually even on such doctrines as constitute the 
very corner-stones of the whole fabric. 

The doctrine of God's total inaction, in the 
moral and intellectual world, is irreligious and 
unphilosophical. The wisest heathens exploded 
it. Fortunately it is refuted in the strongest lan- 
guage of Scripture. For after our Saviour's as- 
cension, the Holy Spirit was expressly promised, 
and the ministration of the Spirit co-operating on 

and then you will use those means by which you may know 
the good from ill, which, in your present state, you seem to me 
unable to distinguish." 

The philosopher seems to have seen the necessity of divine 
revelation, and to have predicted the illumination of the Spirit 
of God. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



125 



the heart of man with the written word, is to con- 
tinue its energy, as it does at this hour, to the end 
of time. 

The Spirit of God is every where present, like 
the air which we inhale. It is no less necessary 
to intellectual life, than the air to animal. There 
is a remarkable passage, apposite to the present 
subject, in the meditations of Antoninus, which I 
shall give in the translation of Collier, and as it is 
quoted by Delany. 

u Let your soul," says the philosopher, " receive 
the Deity as your blood does the air; for the influ- 
ences of the one are no less vital than the other. 
This correspondence is very practicable ; for there 
is an ambient omnipresent Spirit, which lies as 
open and pervious to your mind, as the air you 
breathe does to your lungs. But then you must 
remember to be disposed to draw it." 

" If," continues Dr. Delany, " this gracious gift 
of Heaven should be denied, because it is not found 
to dwell with the wicked, I answer, that men may 
as well deny the existence of the dew, because it is 
not often found upon clods and filth, nor even upon 
grass, trampled with polluted feet. 

" Let the grace of God be considered as having 
some analogy, some resemblance, to the dew of 
Heaven ; the dew of Heaven, which falls alike 
upon all objects below it, as the grace of God doth 
upon all mankind, but resteth not upon things 
denied. Purity abideth not with pollution." 

There is an elemental fire, the electrical fluid, 
diffused through all nature. Though unseen its 
energy is mighty. So also the Divine Spirit ac- 
tuates the intellectual world, omnipresent, irresisti- 
ble, invisible. 



126 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXVIII. 

The Want of Faith could not be criminal, if it de- 
pended only on the understanding ; but Faith is a 
Virtue, because it originates from virtuous Dis- 
positions favoured by the Holy Spirit. 

Fatth is always required and represented in the 
gospel as a moral virtue. This alone establishes 
the doctrine of this book, that faith, or the evi- 
dence of the Christian religion, arises from obe- 
dience to its laws. There could be no virtue in 
faith, if it were produced in the mind by demon- 
strative proofs, such as many apologists for Chris- 
tianity have endeavoured to display. But there 
is great virtue in obedience to the moral precepts of 
the gospel. The heart must be well inclined that 
endeavours to learn and perform its duty- from the 
dictates of the gospel, notwithstanding the doubts 
or disbelief which may occasionally arise in the 
understanding concerning the divine original of 
so excellent a rule of morality. Such an inclina- 
tion draws down upon it the favour of God, and 
consequently the illumination of the Holy Ghost. 
The doubts and disbelief are gradually removed. 
A life of piety and good morals is the never-failing 
result. And thus faith both begins and ends in 
virtue. 

" The reason," says Dr. Clarke, " why faith 
(which is generally looked upon as an act of un- 
derstanding, and so not in our power) in the New 
Testament is always insisted upon as a moral vir- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



127 



tue, is, because faith, in the Scripture sense, is not 
barely an act of the understanding, but a mixed 
act of the will also, consisting very much in that 
simplicity and unpreju diced ness of mind, which 
our Saviour calls receiving the kingdom of God 
as a little child, in that freedom from guile and / 
deceit, which was the character of Nathanael, an 
Israelite indeed ; and in that teachable disposition, 
and desire to know the will of God, for which the 
Berseans were so highly commended, ' who searched 
the Scriptures daily, whether these things were 
true/ 

This simple, teachable, unprejudiced state of 
mind is in itself amiable. It is pleasing both to 
God and good men. It is esteemed even by the 
wicked. It is precisely the state in which the 
Holy Spirit delights, and with which he will make 
his abode, bringing with him comfort and illumi- 
nation. To use the poet's words ; 

" He must delight in virtue ; 

And that which he delights in must be happy." 

If indeed it were a moral virtue merely to be- 
lieve a narrative on the credibility of the narra- 
tors, or the probability of the circumstances, then 
would it be a moral virtue to believe a well-au- 
thenticated newspaper. But to believe the gos- 
pel requires purity and piety of heart, those lovely 
qualities which the imagination conceives charac- 
teristic of the angelic nature. It implies a dispo- 
sition which delights in devotion to God, and 
beneficence to man ; a disposition cheerful, tran- 
quil, and which enjoys every innocent satisfaction 
of this life, sweetened with the hope, that when 
the sun sets, it will rise in new and additional 



128 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



splendour. Faith, accompanied with hope and 
chanty, constitutes the true Christian ; a living 
image of virtue, and forming that beautiful model 
which the philosopher wished, but despaired to 
see; truth embodied, virtue personified, walking 
forth among the sons of men, and exciting, by its 
conspicuous loveliness, an universal desire of imi- 
tation. 



SECTION XXIX. 

Of the Scriptural word, ( Unction;' its high myste- 
rious Meaning. 

The very title of our Saviour (rrttftt and XPI- 
2T02) is the anointed ; and the operation of the 
Holy Ghost is called in the sacred Scriptures 
(XPISMA) unction. This idea of the chrisma 
pervades the whole doctrine of grace. 

" The anointing with oil/' says Hammond, de- 
noted, among the Jews, the preferring one before 
another, (and the Targum generally renders it by 
a word which signifies preferring or advancing,) 
and so became the ceremony of consecrating to 
any special office, and was used in the installing 
men to places of any eminence." 

The word chrisma, or unction, was hence as- 
sumed to signify the act of the Holy Ghost, in 
consecrating those who are favoured by divine 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



129 



grace. The consequence of this unction is illu- 
mination ; for St. John says, ' Ye have an unc- 
tion from the Holy One, (the Holy Ghost,) and 
ye (in consequence) know all things ;' 1 that is, all 
things that concern the nature and evidence of 
Christ's religion. Again he says, * The anoint- 
ing which ye have received of him (the Holy 
Ghost) abideth in you; and ye need not that any 
man teach you ; but as the same anointing teach eth 
you all things, and is truth, and is no lie ; even 
as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.' 2 

The idea of the chrisma, I repeat, or unction, 3 
pervades the whole doctrine of divine grace. It 
gives a name to him who brought down the great 
gift of the Spirit, and who himself had the hal- 
lowed unction without measure; 4 for what is sig- 
nified by Christ, but the Anointed ? 5 

I have introduced these observations on the 
name of Christ, partly with a view to expose the 
false learning of a French philosopher, who has 
attacked Christianity with singular artifice. The 
celebrated M. Volney affirms, that Christianity is 
but the allegorical worship of the sun — a mere 
mode of oriental superstition, under the cabalisti- 
cal names of chrisen or Christ, the etymology of 
which, according to him, has no reference to the 
chrisma, unction, but to chins, an astrological 
name among the Indians for the sun, and signify- 
ing conservator ; " whence," says he, " the Hin- 

1 1 John, ii. 20. 2 lb. ii. 27. 

3 Dieu fait couler dans Tame je ne scais quelle onction, qui 
la remplit. Bretonneau.— God causes to flow into the soul 
an unction which I cannot describe, but which fills, or satis- 
fies, it completely." 

4 John, iii. 34. 5 kcit' e%ox*}v. 

K 



130 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



doo god, Chrisen, or Christna, and the Christian 
Christos, the son of Mary." Many of the French 
philosophers, and perhaps Volney, are unacquaint- 
ed with Greek. 

But I hope the Christian scholar will never give 
up the Greek etymology of the word Christ, evi- 
dently a translation of the Hebrew Messiah ; nor 
the sublime and mysterious doctrine which it leads 
to, the metaphorical anointing of the Holy Ghost, 
the sanctifying, consecrating, purifying influence 
of divine grace. 1 



SECTION XXX. 

On ivhat is called by devout persons Experience in 
Religion. 

There is a peace of God, which passeth all under- 
standing, and baffles all power of description. The 
flavour of a peach or pine-apple is delightful to the 
palate, but words can give no idea of it to him who 
has never tasted them. There is a fragrance in a 

1 Mr. Volney further says, that 4C Yesus, or Jesus, was an 
ancient name given to young Bacchus, the clandestine son of 
the virgin Minerva, who, in the whole history of his life, and 
even in his death, calls to mind the history of the God of the 
Christians ; that is, the Star of the Day, of which they are hoth 
of them emblems." Let us avoid the folly of fanciful learning ; 
and say rather that the Star of the Day, is an emblem of Jesus 
Christ, gloriously enlightening, and vitally warming, by his in- 
fluence, the intellectual system. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



131 



rose, which, while the nerves perceive it with com- 
placency, cannot be communicated, in the slightest 
degree, by language. Such also is the heavenly 
manna ; and he who would form a just notion of its 
exquisite sweetness, must taste it. No learning, not 
even the argumentative skill of an Aristotle, can 
afford him the least idea of it without actual sensa- 
tion. 

" Were I to define divinity," (says the admirable 
author of Select Discourses,) "I should rather call 
it a divine life, than a divine science ; 1 it being 
something rather to be understood by a spiritual 
sensation, than by any verbal description. 

" Divinity is a true efflux from the eternal light, 
which, like the sun-beams, does not only enlighten, 
but heat and enliven. The knowledge of divinity 
that appears in systems is but a poor wax-light; 
but the powerful energy of divine knowledge dis- 
plays itself in ' purified souls,' the true Hediov 

" To seek our divinity merely in books and 
writings, is to seek the living among the dead. We 
do but in vain seek God, many times, in these, 
where his truth too often is not so much enshrined 
as entombed. No ; intra te queer e Deum ; seek for 
God within thine own soul. He is best discerned 
voepa £7ra077, by an ' intellectual feeling.' 3 Etrri 
tpvxnQ atadrjcrig Tig, ' the soul itself has a certain 
feeling/ 

" The reason why, notwithstanding all our acute 

' Bishop Taylor and Mr. Smith coincide here, not only in 
sentiment, but expression. 

2 The soil in which truth grows and flourishes. 3 Plotinus. 

K 2 



132 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



reasonings and subtle pursuits, truth prevails no 
more in the world, is, that we so often disjoin truth 
and goodness, which of themselves can never be 
disunited. 

" There is a ' knowing of the truth as it is in 
Jesus;' as it is in a Christ-like nature; as it is in 
that sweet, mild, humble, and loving spirit of 
Jesus, which spreads itself, like a morning sun, 
upon the souls of good men, full of light and life. 
There is an inward beauty, life, and loveliness in 
divine truth, which cannot be known, but only 
when it is digested into life and practice. 

u Our Saviour, the great master of divine truth, 
would not, while he was here on earth, draw it up 
into a system or body, nor would his disciples after 
him : he would not lay it out to us in any canons 
or articles of belief, not being so careful to stock 
and enrich the world with opinions, as with true 
piety, and a godlike pattern of purity, as the best 
way to thrive in all spiritual understanding. His 
main scope was to promote a holy life, as the best 
and most compendious way to a right belief. He 
hangs all true acquaintance with divinity upon the 
doing God's will. If any man will do his will, he 
shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. 
This is that alone which will make us, as St. 
Peter tells us, that we shall not be barren nor un- 
fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. 

" There is an inward sweetness and deliciousness 
in divine truth, which no sensual mind can taste 
or relish. The -d/v^og avrjp, the 'natural man ; 
savours not the things of God. Corrupt passions 
and terrene affections are apt, of their own nature, 
to disturb all serene thoughts, to precipitate our 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



133 



judgments, and warp our understandings. It was 
a good maxim of the old Jewish writers, that the 
Holy Spirit dwells not in earthly passions. 1 Di- 
vinity is not so well perceived by a subtle wit, 
lOGirep ai(r6r)(T£L KEKa$apfievr\, as by pure sensation. 

"He that will find truth, must seek it with a 
free judgment, and a sanctified mind : he that thus 
seeks, shall find : he shall live in truth, and truth 
shall live in him : it shall be like a stream of living 
waters issuing out of his own soul : he shall drink 
of the waters of his own cistern, and be satisfied : 
he shall every morning find this heavenly manna 
lying upon his soul, and be fed with it to eternal 
life. He will find satisfaction within, feeling 
himself in conjunction with truth, though all the 
world should dispute against him." 

Thus the heart of a good man w 7 ill experience 
the most pleasurable sensations, when he finds, 
and find it he will, the e pearl of great price,' the 
living energetic gospel, lodged, by divine grace, in 
the sanctuary of his bosom. He will ( be filled 
with all joy in believing and thus experiencing 
the efficacy of the Christian religion, he can enter- 
tain no doubt of its truth, its divine original. The 
real difficulties and obscurities of the Scriptures 
give him little trouble, much less the cavils of 
sceptics. He has the ( witness in himself,' 2 that 
the gospel is 'the word of God,' the ' ( incorruptible 
seed' 3 of holiness, and such felicity as the world 
never gave, and cannot take away. He cannot 

.wjm k^i lYjn mitf unpn rm 1 

a The Ruach Hakkodesh, or spirit of holiness, dwells not with 
turbulent and angry tempers." 
2 1 John, v. 10. 3 1 Pet. i. 23. 



134 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



adequately describe his state. 1 It is an unspeak- 
able gift. He feels it, and is grateful. 

The excellent Norris, after having spent many 
years in the usual studies of academics, in logic, 
metaphysics, and other, what he calls, unconcerning 
curiosities, comes to the following resolution : 

u I think," says he, " I shall now chiefly apply 
myself to the reading of such books as are rather 
persuasive than instructive ; such as are sapid, 
pathetic, and divinely relishing ; such as warm, 
kindle, and enlarge the interior, and awaken the 
divine sense (or feeling) of the soul ; as consider- 
ing with myself, that I have now, after so much 
reading and speculation, more need of heat than of 
light. Though, if I were for more light still, I 
think this would prove the best method of illumi- 
nation ; and when all is done, the love of God is 
the best light of the soul. For I consider, with the 
excellent Cardinal Bona, that a man may have 
knowledge without love ; but he that loves, although 
he wants sciences, humanly acquired, yet he will 
know more than human wisdom can teach him, be- 
cause he has that master within him, who teaches 
man knowledge." 2 

If other students and teachers were to follow his 
example in this instance, there would be much more 
true devotion and sincere piety in the world ; and 
few would be infidels, except among the desperately 
profligate, who harden their hearts, and cloud their 
understandings by habitual vice and intemperance ; 

1 Thomas a Kempis thus attempts to describe the happy 
state, imperfectly indeed, but devoutly, " Frequens Christi visi- 
tatio cum homine interno, dulcis sermocinatio, grata consolatio, 
multa pax," &c. 

2 Via Compend. ad Deum. 



135 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



who fear Christianity should be true, and therefore, 
with fool-hardy presumption, resolve to deny it. 



SECTION XXXI. 

On the Seasons of Grace, 

There are times when the mind seems sensible of 
a peculiar serenity ; the understanding is clear to 
discern spiritual things, and the heart glows with 
sentiments of Christian piety a,nd general benevo- 
lence. At those times, man appears to be exalted 
above the common level of mortality. All pure, 
all peace, all love, all joy, his nature endeavours to 
soar above the earth, and to reach the source of all 
excellence. A sweet complacency, in those mo- 
ments, diffuses itself over the soul, and an internal 
satisfaction is experienced, which no language can 
describe ; but which renders him who feels it, as 
happy as it is possible to become in a sublunary 
existence. 

These are the halcyon times which may be term- 
ed the seasons of grace; the seasons, when the God 
of mercy, compassionating the weary pilgrim, sends 
down the cup of comfort to exhilarate and reward 
him; displays the lamp of heaven, to illuminate 
his path as he travels in the valley. 

These favours, as I firmly believe, are offered to 



136 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



all the sons of Adam who do not presumptuously 
and repeatedly and knowingly offend the donor : 
for that man may grieve the Spirit and quench the 
Spirit, we are told in the strong language of Scrip- 
ture. 

But a proper reception of this divine benefit will 
secure its frequency and continuance. Our own 
endeavours must be exerted with vigilance and con- 
stancy, to preserve the divine frame of mind which 
it may have produced. Nothing can effect this 
but the avoidance of habitual vice and impurity, 
and the practice of virtue. But if, after all, there 
should be seasons of insensibility and coldness, it 
must not be concluded that the spiritual assistance 
is withdrawn in displeasure. For even in the 
darkest valley, an unseen hand can support and 
guide the pilgrim in his progress ; and after the 
clouds shall have prevailed their time, the sun will 
break forth with all its warmth and lustre. 

It appears to me to be the first object of Christian 
philosophy to secure the duration and frequent re- 
currence of the seasons of grace. In order to ac- 
complish this end, whatever conduces to the moral 
improvement of the heart must be pursued with 
ardour. The fine morality, discovered by the light 
of nature and the feelings of the heart, probably 
assisted, among the heathens, by divine interpo- 
sition, may and ought to be called in to add some- 
thing to the work of Christian improvement; for 
the best heathen ethics are founded on truth, and 
therefore immutably valuable. A state of grace 
without morality, I firmly believe, is not permitted 
by him who is of purer eyes than to behold ini- 
quity. 

But the man who is blessed with the visitations 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



137 



of the divine Spirit, feels his heart spontaneously 
inclined to every thing that is lovely and of good 
report. Virtue appears to him amiable, and easy 
to be practised ; and vice disgustful, at once the 
pollution and the misery of his nature. All the 
angry passions subside in him ; the gentle and be- 
nevolent affections grow in their place, and man 
becomes what he was before the lapse of Adam, 
and what the gospel revelation was designed to 
render him, a being little lower than the angels. 



SECTION XXXII. 

Of mistaking the Effects of Imagination for the 
Seasons of Grace. 

There are many who will scarcely allow the exist- 
ence of any thing which they cannot subject to the 
notice of the senses. They must literally see the 
truth of every thing which requires their assent, or 
they will doubt its reality. To them, whatever is 
said on the subject of a spiritual world, or an in- 
visible agency on the soul of man, appears to be 
the effusion of fancy, and the sick man's dream. 

And, indeed, the experience of mankind jus- 
tifies great caution in distinguishing between the 
actual operation of the Holy Spirit, and the deli- 
rious effects of a too lively imagination. The 
imagination, heated by the devotional flame, has 



138 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



often kindled a destructive fire. It is indeed the 
parent of fanaticism, in all its extremities, and all 
its evil consequences. As, therefore, the real 
agency of the Holy Spirit is to be invited and 
cherished, so the mere imagination of it is to be 
most studiously avoided. 

That the whole doctrine is not imaginary, is 
evident to him who reads and believes the gospel. 
Such operations are there plainly spoken of and 
promised as the greatest blessings to the human 
race. Their effects are described as great and 
sudden, in affording both comfort, holiness, and 
illumination. 

The reality of seasons of grace cannot be ques- 
tioned but by him who at the same time questions 
the whole system of revelation. And a rational 
man, it is to be believed, will find no difficulty in 
satisfying himself that he is not deluded by his 
imagination, when he feels himself particularly 
virtuous, pure, benevolent, and open to celestial 
influence. 

But as all men are not governed by reason, and 
none are governed by it uniformly, it certainly is 
probable that the delusions of imagination may 
often be mistaken for supernatural assistance. A 
few cautionary suggestions on the subject may 
not, therefore, be superfluous. 

Since it is possible that the best-intentioned may 
be thus deluded, let every man try his spirit by 
the fruits it produces ; not by a sudden or mo- 
mentary fruit, but by the frequency and abun- 
dance of its productions. If it habitually produces 
peace, joy, purity, piety, and benevolence, let no 
man attribute it to his imagination ; but give the 
glory to God, and be grateful. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



139 



But if it display itself in pride, self-conceit, 
and contempt of others, in acts of violence, in 
disturbing good order, in any behaviour which 
seems to argue an opinion of peculiar inspiration 
from heaven, of a partial commission, delegated 
to reform the world by irregular, uncharitable, and 
offensive interposition; if it pretends to visions 
and illuminations unexperienced by the best and 
wisest of men ; if it assumes the privilege of ac- 
tually conversing in person with Jesus Christ, and 
talks of the hour and moment when the Holy Ghost 
rushed upon the bosom ; it is time to beware of 
the infatuation of a deluded fancy. There is cer- 
tainly every reason to believe that such a temper 
of. mind is not from God. 

But it is folly and impiety to confound with 
these that sweet frame and disposition of mind, 
which the Scriptures describe as descending from 
the Holy Ghost, and which has indeed every mark 
of divine origin. 

He who condemns the doctrine of divine agency 
on the mind of man, as fanciful, must, if he is con- 
sistent, include the whole of the Christian religion, 
and all that has ever been said or written in favour 
of it, under the same imputation. According to 
him, the fair edifice must melt away, like a palace 
of ice, when the sun of reason shines upon it. 
But we maintain that the true gospel, which is 
indeed the doctrine of grace, is the rock of ages. 



140 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXXIII. 

Of Seasons of Desertion or supposed Absence of the 
Spirit. 

There are seasons in the lives of good men, when 
their sense of spiritual things is comparatively 
dull ; and many, at these times, have been alarmed 
with an idea of being totally deserted by the Spirit, 
and have fallen into a state of despondency. But 
if there were no other proof that the grace of God 
is still vouchsafed to them, their uneasiness alone 
would evince it. While pain is felt, the surgeon 
apprehends not a mortification. 

But the alarm, it may be presumed, is, to the 
pious Christian, unnecessary. For it is certain 
that the visitations of the Holy Spirit are some- 
times more sensible than at others ; and that when 
they are not sensible at all, its guidance and be- 
nign protection may continue unaltered. The 
light sometimes shines with a bright and strong 
effulgence to guide us into the right way ; but 
while we are proceeding in it safely and regularly, 
and without an inclination to deviate, or immediate 
danger of falling, the rays may be emitted less 
powerfully, because less necessary. The moment 
there appears danger of wandering or of stum- 
bling, the lamp is ready to shine with instantaneous 
radiance. Thus an infant, just beginning to walk, 
is guided by the parent's hand, watched by the 
parent's eye, and encouraged by the parent's voice, 
and yet it is often permitted to go alone, without as- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



141 



sistance or encouragement, in order to exercise its 
strength, and to give it a due degree of confidence. 
But the tender mother may still hold the leading- 
string unobserved by the infant, and, at the very 
first lapse, save the fall. The sun, though ob- 
scured by clouds, affords both light and warmth, 
guides mankind in all their operations, and sup- 
oorts both animal and vegetative life. 

The mistaken opinion that ecstacy and rapture 
are always necessary to evince the presence of the 
Holy Spirit, has brought the doctrine into discre- 
dit among the sober and rational, and introduced 
much misery among the ignorant, the weak, and 
the fanciful. The sober and rational neither expe- 
rienced such ardour without intermission, nor did 
they believe the nature of man, as he is now con- 
stituted, capable of supporting it. The' ignorant, 
the weak, and the fanciful, endeavouring to raise 
themselves to a height which they could either not 
reach or not maintain, fell from disappointment to 
dejection, and from dejection to despair. 

In truth, the influence of the Spirit rushes not 
like a continual torrent, but flows as a gentle river, 
which, indeed, for the most part, displays its silver 
surface in the meadows, but may sometimes con- 
ceal itself, without being lost, in a subterranean 
channel. 

While we retain faith, hope, and charity, and 
while we seek the favour of God in fervent prayer, 
we have every reason to believe that grace abounds 
in us, though we should not, for a considerable 
time, be favoured with the livelier experience of 
its immediate energy. If we persevere in a vir- 
tuous course, we may rest assured that God will, 
at all proper intervals, and for our reward and 



142 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



encouragement, show us the light of his counte- 
nance. 

Let the pious Christian remember, that hope is 
placed, in the celebrated enumeration of Christian 
virtues, next to faith, and before charity. Let 
him, therefore, take care not to indulge the least 
tendency to such melancholy ideas of desertion as 
may lead to despair. God will not behold a sin- 
cerely contrite heart, anxious to find grace, with- 
out affording it ; and though, for wise purposes of 
trial, it is possible that he may not, for a short 
time, bestow it in its more sensible influences, 
yet there is every reason to believe, that he who 
sincerely grieves because he thinks himself less 
favoured by the Holy Spirit than usual, is, on that 
very account, in a state of grace, and therefore 
safe. 



SECTION XXXIV. 

Of the Doctrine that the Operations of the Holy 
Spirit are never distinguishable from the Opera- 
tions of our own Minds. 

Ingenious and philosophical divines, desirous of 
discouraging, to the utmost of their power, all fan- 
ciful pretentions to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 
have boldly affirmed that its influence is not to be 
distinguished from the ordinary operations of the 



143 



human mind. Their endeavour to prevent the evils 
of a wild imagination deserves praise ; but they 
should be cautious of misrepresenting the effects of 
divine agency, and denying truth, with a design of 
obviating error. 

From the plain and repeated accounts of Scrip- 
ture, it appears that this divine agency produces a 
very great alteration in the mind ; a much greater 
than could be produced by its own natural ope- 
rations. It is God that worketh in you, saith 
St. Paul, both to will and to do of his good plea- 
sure. 1 

I speak with the utmost diffidence, when I say 
that it appears probable that such powerful energy 
is sometimes distinguishable from the spontaneous 
operations of the mind. I am sensible that the 
doctrine may open a door to fanatical extrava- 
gance ; but if it is the true doctrine, it ought to be 
maintained, whatever may be the consequences. 

The influence of the Holy Ghost is represented 
in Scripture as consolatory. When a good man, 
in deep affliction, feels, in consequence of his 
prayer and devotion, a spring of comfort flowing 
upon his mind, such as no reasoning of his own, no 
external circumstances, no condolence of his friends 
could produce, is there not reason to believe that 
the influence of God's Holy Spirit is upon him, 
and that it is distinguishable from his own thoughts 
and imagination ? The operations of his own 
mind lead only to horror and dismay ; but a light 
rises up in the darkness ; and is it not easy to per- 
ceive that this unexpected radiance is the day- 
spring from on high ? 



1 Phil.ii. 13. 



144 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



When the pious Christian, employed in fervent 
prayer, finds himself full of holy joy and humble 
confidence, and feels his heart melt within him, 
overflowing with love of God and charity to man, 
is there not more presumption in attributing this 
state to the mere operations of his own mind, than 
to the God of spirits, actually dispensing that grace 
or favour which he has promised, in the gospel, to 
the faithful ? 

When temptations to sin assault with violence, 
and a man feels himself strengthened, so as to be 
able to overcome, at the very moment of his in- 
tended surrender, shall he erect the victorious tro- 
phies to his own virtue ? His own reason and reso- 
lution had betrayed him, the operations of his own 
unassisted mind tended to concession; but God 
gave him strength from his holy place, and to God 
only is due the praise. 

Innumerable are the circumstances and situations 
in life, in which comfort, illuminations, protection, 
and strength, are afforded in a degree and manner, 
which it is much more unreasonable to think could be 
produced by the mere operations of the mind, than 
that the}'- were supplied by the author and giver of 
all good. 

In making the distinction between the operations 
of the Holy Spirit and those of the human mind, 
the wisest men will ever be obnoxious to mistake. 
The weak, wicked, and hypocritical may deceive 
themselves, or others in it, to the injury or offence 
of many. But still the inconveniences of this per- 
version cannot entirely justify divines in their 
confident and repeated assertions, that since the 
extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, such as were 
bestowed on the apostles, have ceased, the opera- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



145 



tions of the Holy Ghost on the mind are in no in- 
stance or degree to be distinguished from its own 
operations. These assertions approach nearly to 
an entire denial of the doctrine ; a very dangerous 
and impious blasphemy, 1 

1 Nam si tota Dei actio consistit in clara evangelii proposi- 
ti one, opportune facta, cur omnipotentia, ad id requiritur ? 
Quorsum adhibentur a Paulo magnificae illae voces, ad descri- 
bendam, quam exerit Deus in nobis, omnipotentiam, Eph. i. 
18, 19. quum dicit esse vTrepflaWov (JieyeOog Swafxeiog et Kara 
TTfv evepytiav rov Kparovg ttjq ioxvoq. — " For if the whole of 
the interposition of God consists in the clear proposal of the 
gospel, opportunely made, why is omnipotence required for it ? 
Why are those magnificent expressions applied by St. Paul to 
describe the omnipotence which God exerts in us ? c The eyes 
of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know 
what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who be- 
lieve according to the working of his mighty power ' " 

To assert that the power of God working in us, differs not 
perceptibly from the ordinary power of man, — annon hoc est 
actionem omnipotentem Dei obscurare et in nihilum ferme 
redigere ! Turretin. — u Is not this to extenuate the almighty 
energy of God, and almost to reduce it to nothing ?" 

It may here be asked, What man can judge infallibly of that 
which passes in the mind of another ? Yet many rational di- 
vines dogmatically declare to their disciples, that it is impossible, 
in any circumstances, to distinguish the energy of God's grace on 
their hearts, from the common and natural workings of the pas- 
sions and imagination. This is to assume a power of discern- 
ment which belongs to him only, to ' whom all hearts are open, 
and from whom no secrets are hidden.' 



146 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXXV. 

Of Devotional Feelings or Sentiments. 

The pious devotee has exposed himself to the deri- 
sion of the scorner, by talking of spiritual feelings 
which he could not accurately describe ; and the 
reality of which can never be proved by external 
testimony. 

But I know not why the word feeling, which, in 
this age, is applied to all occasions, should not be 
applied to religion. The lover, the artist, the con- 
noisseur, enlarge upon the acuteness of their feel- 
ings in the contemplation of the excellence they 
admire. The man of delicacy is for ever boasting 
of his fine feelings, and the beautiful embarrass- 
ment which they create. The spectator in a thea- 
tre, the hearer at a concert, expatiates on the effect 
which the spectacle and the music have produced 
on his feelings ; and shall not he who contemplates 
the universe, and adores the Maker of it, and of 
those powers by which he both adores and contem- 
plates, shall not he be allowed to feel ; and w r hen his 
bosom glows with love, gratitude, and devotion, 
shall his pretensions to feeling be stigmatized as 
the delirious language of a wild enthusiasm ? 

The frigid temper of scholastic theology would 
deny the reality of every thing which, from its 
own defect of sensibility, it never yet experienced. 

That the divine Spirit, operating on the mind, 
should cause in it a serenity, a tranquillity, a com- 
fort which no words can express, is highly credible ; 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



147 



when a thousand inferior agents, or causes, are able to 
produce emotions of various kinds; gentle or violent, 
painful or pleasing. But well-meaning divines, 
endeavouring to explode those extravagant preten- 
sions to feeling, which have deluded the vulgar, 
disturbed society, and driven many to madness, 
have denied the possibility of such sentiments, and 
attributed them entirely to the force of fancy, to 
folly, and to hypocrisy. They deserved praise for 
their endeavour to prevent evil ; but by exceeding 
the bounds of truth in their censure, they prevented 
good at the same time. For their doctrines unin- 
tentionally taught men to neglect the benign sea- 
sons of grace, and to confound the holy assistance 
of heaven with the mere operations of the human 
mind. They allow that the Scripture plainly 
speaks of heavenly influence j but they "boldly as- 
sert, that it can never be distinguished from the 
ordinary actings of natural sentiment, intellect, 
passion, and imagination. 

The word feelings, in religion, has been treated 
with such contempt and ridicule, that the truth is 
in danger of suffering, without a fair examination. 
Such is the force of words and prepossession. But 
let the word be changed to the synonymous term, 
sentiment, and then let any one object, with solid 
argument, to giving the name of religious senti- 
ment to that pious, virtuous, pure state of mind, 
which is caused by the influence of the Holy Ghost, 
in the happy hour when God, in his mercy, showers 
it down, more abundantly than usual, on the hu- 
man bosom. 

But, on this topic, great caution is required ; for 
men, especially the ignorant and passionate, are 
prone to attribute their own dreams and emotions 

l 2 



148 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



to demoniacal or celestial impressions. Such a per- 
suasion leads to spiritual pride, 1 to a perseverance 
in error and vice, to cruelty, and to persecution. 
He who is acquainted with ecclesiastical history, 
will recollect many dreadful examples of false feel- 
ings, and pretended inspiration. The deluded and 
deluding persons have represented themselves as 
prophets, new Messiahs, and even as God; and 
what is more extraordinary, they have persuaded 
many to believe them, and have conducted a willing 
multitude to whatever mischief their zealous hearts 
erroneously conceived. 

While, therefore, a conviction that there is in- 
deed a religious sentiment, or a divine and holy 
feeling, which impresses the heart more forcibly 
than any argument, induces me to maintain so im- 
portant a truth ; I must, in the most anxious and 
importunate terms, express my desire that none 
may teach, and none submit to be taught, a belief, 
at this period, in extraordinary inspiration, 

All spiritual pride, all cruelty, all persecution, 
are, in their nature, repugnant to the Spirit of 
grace; and though they probably proceed from 
strong feelings, they are feelings arising from pas- 
sion, fancy, and actual insanity. Whoever is un- 
der their influence, must have recourse to the Spirit 
of grace, that his feelings or sentiments may become 
all gentle, benevolent, peaceable, and humble. If 
his extravagancies still continue to carry him to 
injurious actions and disorderly behaviour, applica- 
tion must be made to the physician, or, in cases of 
extremity, the civil magistrate. 

1 False religion is always ostentatious. Its object is to be 
noticed, admired, revered. When men talk of their feelings, 
there is reason to suspect vanity, hypocrisy, or knavery. It is 
justly said; " non est religio, ubi omnia patent." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



149 



There can be nothing in the genuine sentiment, 
or feelings, occasioned by the Spirit of God, which 
is not friendly to man, improving to his na- 
ture, and co-operating with all that sound philo- 
sophy and benignant laws have ever done to ad- 
vance the happiness of the human race. 



SECTION XXXVI. 

Of Enthusiasm, 

Enthusiasm is commonly used and understood in 
a bad sense ; but if its real meaning 1 be attended 
to, it may certainly admit of a very fine one. It 
means a consciousness or persuasion that the 
Deity is actually present, by an immediate emana- 
tion or impulse on the mind of the enthusiast ; the 
reality of which, in certain cases, is the doctrine of 
the church and of the gospel; a doctrine suffi- 
ciently consonant to reason, and not necessarily 
connected with self-delusion, folly, madness, or 
fanaticism. 

But because many have made pretensions to 
the privilege of God's immediate presence in their 
hearts, whose lives and conduct gave reason to 
suspect that they were not thus favoured, the 
word enthusiasm, which, in common language, 

1 EN 0EO2. 



150 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



expressed their false pretensions, has fallen into 
disgrace, and now often implies no more than the 
idea of a bigot, or a devotee, weakly deluded by 
the fond visions of a disordered imagination. 

But let not enthusiasm of the better kind, a 
modest confidence of being assisted, as the gospel 
promises, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, be 
involved in undeserved disgrace. 1 We are taught 

1 " Gratia immediata, qualis ab orthodoxis docetur, nihil 
habet commune cum enthusiasmo, sed diversimode ab eo differt. 

" 1. Enthusiasmus novas quasret Revelation es extra verbum ; 
sed gratia immediata nullas, quia verbum semper comitatur, nec 
aliud agit, quam ut illud menti imprimat. 

" 2. In enthusiasmo, objecta quae menti imprimuntur non 
extrinsecus adveniunt, sed intus a Spiritu per arcanas inspira- 
tions suggeruntur. Sed hie objectum supponitur semper ex- 
trinsecus advenire et ex verbo peti. 

" 3. Enthusiasmus fit per subitos motus, qui ipsura discur- 
sum et ratiocinationem antevertunt, et saspe excludunt. Sed 
Spiritus operatio non excludit, sed secum trahit ratiocinationem 
et gratum voluntatis consensum. 

" 4. Denique, ne plura discrimina jam persequamur, enthusias- 
mus non infert cordis mutationem ; et mentem afficit, immutata 
saape manente voluntate; unde in impios etiam cadit, ut in 
Balaamo et aliis visum ; sed operatio gratia? necessario infert 
cordis mutationem et sanctitatis studium." — K Immediate grace, 
as the doctrine is taught by the orthodox, has nothing in com- 
mon with enthusiasm, but differs from it in various respects. 

u I. Enthusiasm seeks new revelations extrinsic to the written 
word ; but immediate grace seeks none that are new, because it 
always accompanies the word, and aims at nothing more than to 
impress the word more forcibly on the mind. 

Cl 2. According to the tenets of enthusiasm, objects which 
are impressed on the mind come not from any thing external, 
but are suggested within by the Spirit and by secret inspiration. 
But here (in the case of immediate grace) the object is always 
supposed to come from something external, and indeed to be 
sought from the written word. 

" 3. Enthusiasm is caused by sudden emotions, which pre- 
cede all reasoning of discourse and sometimes exclude them 
entirely. But the operation of the Spirit does not exclude, but 
takes with it reasoning and the ready consent of the will. 

i( 4. Lastly, not to pursue any further distinctions, enthusiasm 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



151 



that the Divinity resides in the pure heart. The 
belief of it is, indeed, enthusiasm, but it is enthu- 
siasm of the noble, the virtuous, the necessary 
kind. The ardour which it inspires is laudable. 
Like that of all other good things, the corruption 
and abuse of it is productive of great evil; but 
still it is not itself to be exploded. 

There is, indeed, a cold philosophy, which seems 
to discourage all the warm sentiments of affection, 
and will hardly allow them in any thing which 
concerns religion. It aims at reducing theology 
to a scholastic science, and would willingly des- 
cant of the love of God, and the sublimest disco- 
veries of the gospel, in the same frigidity of temper 
as it would explain the metaphysics of Aristotle. 
But there is a natural and laudable ardour in the 
mind of man, whenever it contemplates magni- 
ficent objects ; and which is certainly to be ex- 
pected, when that object is the Lord God omni- 
potent, and the human soul, the particle of Deity, 
aspiring at reunion with the Supreme Being, and 
meditating on immortality. 

Is there not an ardour of enthusiasm, which ad- 
mires and produces excellence in the arts of music, 
painting, and poetry ? And shall it be allowed in 
the humble province of imitative skill, and ex- 
ploded in contemplating the great archetype of 

does not produce a change in the heart, but affects the under- 
standing, leaving the will unaltered ; whence it happens that 
enthusiasm may exist in wicked men, as it appears to have 
done in the instance of Baalam and others ; but the operation 
of grace necessarily produces a change in the heart and a love 
of holiness." — Turretin. 

This author here speaks of enthusiasm in its vulgar sense — 
which is certainly a disease ; a mental fever, attended with 
delirium. 



152 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



all ; the source of life, beauty, order, grandeur, 
and sublimity ? Shall I hear a symphony, or be- 
hold a picture, a statue, or a fine prospect, with 
rapture, and at the same time consider God, who 
made both the object and the sense that perceives 
it, with the frigid indifference of abstracted philo- 
sophy ? Shall I meditate on heaven, hell, death, 
and judgment, with all the coolness with which a 
lawyer draws a formal instrument, an arithmetician 
computes a sum, or a logician forms a syllogism in 
mood and figure. 

Such coolness, on such subjects, arises not from 
superiority of wisdom, but from pride and vain 
philosophy, from acquired callosity or natural in- 
sensibility of temper. God has bestowed on man 
a liveliness of fancy, and a warmth of affection, 
as well as an accuracy and acuteness of reason 
and intellect : he has bestowed a heart vibrating 
with the tender chords of love and pity, as well as 
a brain furnished with fibres adapted to subtle 
disquisition. 

The Scriptures afford many examples of a laud- 
able and natural enthusiasm. ' My heart was 
hot within me,' says David ; and the warm poetry 
of the Psalms, the rapturous style of prophecy, are 
proofs that those who have been singularly fa- 
voured by God, were of tempers which the mo- 
dern philosophers would call enthusiastical. Their 
fire was kindled at the altar. St. John was a 
burning and a shining light. St. Paul was avow- 
edly of an ardent temper, and a glowing imagina- 
tion ; nor did our Saviour himself express his 
sentiments in the cold language of the Aristotelian 
school, but with emphasis and pathos. 

They who rail at enthusiasm, in general terms, 



153 



and without making a due distinction between the 
scriptural and the false kind, consist either of those 
who laudably endeavour to discredit the pretensions 
of the hypocrite and the weak brother ; or of those 
who, from their speculative habits, their cold 
tempers, or irreligious lives, labour to discoun- 
tenance all pretensions to an excellence and 
purity, which they never felt, and to which they 
could not rise. 

Whoever believes what the Scriptures indisput- 
ably affirm, that the body is the temple of the 
Holy Spirit, and that he actually resides in it, 
when it is purified sufficiently for his reception, 
is so far an enthusiast ; but let him glory in the 
appellation, for he is such an one as every Chris- 
tian, who thinks and feels in conformity to the 
gospel he professes, must be of necessity. If he 
denies the agency of the Spirit of God on the 
soul of man, he denies the most important doc- 
trine of revelation, and must be a stranger to its 
finest effects on the human bosom. 

But since such is the case, let those who very 
laudably write against enthusiasm of the false 
kind, take care not to confound truth with false- 
hood ; and not to proceed to such an extreme in 
refuting the pretensions of hypocrites, fools, or 
knaves, as to infringe on the genuine and sublime 
doctrine of grace, the glory of the everlasting 
gospel. 



154 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXXVII. 

Cautions concerning Enthusiasm, 

So many and so melancholy are the effects of mis- 
taken and excessive enthusiasm, recorded in the 
annals of mankind, that wise men are justly alarmed 
at every appearance of it, and little inclined to 
give it indulgence. 

Whatever there has been of savage cruelty, 
whatever of public violence, and tumult, and con- 
fusion, the utmost extremes of all these evils, in 
all their consequences, have been equalled by the 
frantic extravagance of false enthusiasm. It has 
exhibited, in some tempers, all the symptoms of 
a malignant disease, and terminated, at last, in 
real and most deplorable insanity. 

If then it be wisdom to obviate the approaches 
of distemper, those men have evinced themselves 
wise, who have laboured to discourage, by all the 
arts of ridicule and argument, the earliest tenden- 
cies among the people to religious frenzy. There 
are innocent follies, and there is a madness, which 
is only the object of compassion; but the folly and 
madness of the bigot are detestable, because they 
are destructive as a pestilence. Against such an 
enemy to human happiness, philosophy has urged 
her best reason, justice has unsheathed her sword, 
and the stage, to complete the triumph, has played 
all the batteries of derision. 

But argumentation, coercive force, and even 
ridicule, have been found ineffectual. All these 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



155 



are classed, by the bigot, under the term persecu- 
tion, and persecution, like a current of air, adds 
violence to fire. The gentler, the kinder, the more 
Christian mode of expostulation and rational con- 
cession, wherever concession can be made, may, 
like a balsamic vulnerary, heal the sore which op- 
position would cause to rankle. 

I therefore do not deny the justice of the enthu- 
siast's pretensions, who professes himself actuated 
by a belief that the Holy Spirit condescends to 
assist him in virtuous endeavours, by a sacred in- 
fluence from heaven. But I caution him against 
entertaining, for a moment, the presumptuous 
idea, that the same Spirit which assists him, does 
not, with equal readiness and efficacy, assist his 
pious neighbour also, and all sincere believers, 
throughout Christendom, however distinguished by 
sect, church, or persuasion. 

I urge him to try his Spirit by the infallible 
touchstone of Scripture. Is it pure, is it peace- 
able, is it gentle, easy to be entreated, full of 
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and 
without hypocrisy ? 1 If it should be deficient in 
any of these amiable qualities, let him be cautious 
of indulging it, lest the Spirit should be of a dia- 
bolical, and not of a heavenly nature. 

And in what manner is he to form a judgment 
of himself, since the heart is deceitful ; and to 
know oneself is the most difficult of sciences ? If 
his high pretensions are accompanied with a bad 
life; if he be disposed to contend with rancour 
and violence in support of his pretensions ; if he 



1 James, iii. 17. 



156 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



be disposed to involve all who think differently 
from him in perdition ; if he decry good works ; 
and if, with every appearance of sanctity, and 
many external acts of piety and benevolence, he 
reserves to himself some secret and favourite vice, 
he may rest assured, that the Spirit which actuates 
him is not from above. 

If he be inclined to neglect, despise, and revile 
decent and useful ordinances, such as are counte- 
nanced by Scripture, and have a direct tendency 
to preserve peace, benevolence, and piety ; if he 
prefers himself to all regular and learned minis- 
ters, whether in the establishment or out of it, and 
preaches to ignorant and deluded multitudes in 
the fields, with the air and voice of frenzy, he may 
have just reason to fear, though he should have ten 
thousand in his train, that he has carried his pre- 
tensions to the Spirit beyond that wisdom, mo- 
deration, and love of order, which the author of 
our religion taught, both by precept and exam- 
ple. 

If, in his writings, he applies the Scriptural lan- 
guage to himself, and assumes the authority of a 
primitive apostle; if, at the same time, he ex- 
presses his ideas in such a manner as to excite 
the laughter and contempt of men of sense and 
approved goodness, he may infer that his spiritual 
pride has hurried him to the verge of insanity ; 
and, as he values his health and happiness, should 
exert himself to remove the febrile symptoms which 
are at once contagious and fatal. 

When mechanics, of confined education, and 
not remarkable for natural discernment, or pecu- 
liar virtue and goodness, think themselves better 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



157 



able to instruct the people, than a numerous class 
of their fellow-citizens, who have been separated, 
from their youth, for sacred offices, instructed in 
learning* of various kinds, versed in the original 
languages of Scripture, the very idea implies so 
great a degree of pride and self-conceit, that it 
cannot come from the gentle, unassuming Spirit 
of him who was himself meek and lowly, and who 
everywhere taught his disciples the lesson of hu- 
mility. 

If such persons urge, in defence of their ex- 
travagant behaviour, their dereliction of their 
trades and daily labours, and their assumption of 
the priest's office, a particular call, from Heaven 
itself, louder than reaches the ears of others, let 
them, before they believe themselves, or persuade 
others, produce, as a credential of their commis- 
sion, a miracle. If they find themselves utterly 
unable to do this, let them return to the workshop 
and warehouse, renounce the deceitful spirit, and 
evince their attainment of the true, by humility, 
charity, modesty, and obedience to lawful supe- 
riors ; by a study to be quiet, and an attention to 
their own business. 

From such practices, and such persons as I have 
alluded to, has arisen much of the disgrace which 
has fallen on true and laudable enthusiasm, or that 
wisdom which is infused into the pure, gentle, and 
charitable heart from above. False enthusiasm 
should be discouraged, that true religion may grow 
and flourish ; as the weed should be plucked up, to 
give room for the wholesome plant to strike root, 
and expand itself in foliage and blossoms, and 
produce good fruit in abundance. 



158 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XXXVIII. 

Of being Righteous overmuch. 

It seems to be very doubtful, whether the Scrip- 
tural phrase of being righteous overmuch, signi- 
fies that sort of excess which Methodists and fa- 
natics are apt to indulge. I am rather induced to 
believe, that it means an extreme rigour in exact- 
ing from others an unerring rectitude. ' Be not 
righteous overmuch ; why shouldst thou destroy 
thyself?' 1 That is, " Establish not, by thy severity, 
a rule so strict as must, if put in force against thy- 
self, involve thee, imperfect as thou art, in destruc- 
tion." The prohibition seems to me to quadrate 
with the old observation, that justice in the ex- 
treme is extreme injustice. 2 

There are other interpretations of the words at 
least as probable as that which confines it to the 
over-sanctity of the Methodist or bigot. 

The ingenious and pious Dr. Trapp has taken 
the words in the latter sense, and written, with 
great force of argument, against the extravagances 
of Methodism. Perhaps the words of his text did 
not properly authorize him in deriving the doc- 
trine from them which he has laid down; but, 
whether they did or not, I think he had reason on 
his side, when he endeavoured to explode all su- 
perstitious excesses which are subversive of true 

1 Eccles. vii. 16. * Summum jus, summa injuria. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



159 



religion, injurious to society, and painful to the 
deluded individual. 

Philosophers, by the light of nature, discovered, 
in the earliest ages, the wisdom of avoiding ex- 
tremes ; and no precepts are more common than 
those which recommend the golden mediocrity. 
These were undoubtedly suggested by actual ex- 
perience, and a careful study of the human con- 
stitution. If they are just and proper, when ap- 
plied to philosophy, there is every reason to think 
them equally so, when applied to religion, which is 
the perfection of philosophy. Excess, in the very 
name, implies culpability, even when the things in 
which it appears are of a virtuous and laudable 
nature. 

So that whoever advances his virtues beyond 
the line of rectitude, errs no less than he who 
stops, at an equal interval, on this side of it. Yet, 
at the same time, I must observe, that there is 
something far more noble and generous in errors 
of excess than of defect ; and the virulence which 
has been shown in refuting the poor Methodist, 
who has been tormenting himself with superfluous 
austeries, seems to me to arise from a want of 
good-nature and charity, far more criminal than 
the mistaken discipline of a zealous devotee. 

That part of the Methodists who are sincere in 
their rigid self-denial, and in all the active and 
passive virtues of their persuasion, are certainly 
objects of kindness and compassion, rather than of 
severe animadversion. 

The Church, and the Protestant Dissenters, it 
appears, teach the doctrine of grace; a doctrine 
which, I believe, the Methodists consider as of the 



160 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



first moment ; and for the sake of attending to 
which with more earnestness, they seceded from 
the church and meeting-house to the tabernacle. 
Their preachers, they found, were used to dwell 
upon that subject more than on any others ; and 
with a degree of vehemence not usual or approved 
by men of more learning, moderation, and humi- 
lity. They were caught by the sound, and taught 
to hate both the church and all regular ministers 
with a hatred truly unchristian. The church and 
the ministers, it seems, w r ere not sufficiently holy 
for their purpose. The church and the ministers 
did not preach the gospel in its purity ; and nei- 
ther its doctrine or its discipline were sufficiently 
strict and severe. 

The dissemination of such ideas may answer 
the ends of self-appointed leaders, who wish to in- 
crease their importance, by drawing a multitude 
after them. Accusation will generally be heard 
with attention. Pretension to superior holiness is 
one of the most successful means of deceit. The 
multitude are attracted by these, and a thousand 
other arts, co-operating with the natural tendency 
which they feel to superstition and fanaticism. 
They become self-tormenters ; lose most of the 
comforts, and neglect many of the duties of life. 

In the church, their favourite doctrine of grace 
ought to be inculcated in the manner which both 
reason, Scripture, and experience best approve ; 
for the doctrine of grace is most fully declared to 
be the doctrine of the church of England ; and if 
the ministers are reluctant to preach it in all its 
force, it is from a fear of falling into the sin and 
disgrace of over-much righteousness. It is the 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



161 



humble endeavour of my treatise on tins subject, 
to stimulate preachers to enlarge on the doctrine 
of grace ; and by those means to bring back the 
numerous sheep who have strayed from their flock. 
There is the sort of food in which the sheep will 
show that they delight, if the shepherds will but 
bring it forth ; and indeed there is little doubt but 
that most of them do, on some occasions ; but if 
the sheep hunger and thirst after more than they 
receive, the good shepherd will not fail to open all 
the stores with which the Scriptures abundantly 
supply him. 

With respect to doctrine, the over-righteous 
Christian, as he is now called, will thus have no 
cause to complain of defect in the church ; and 
with respect to moral discipline, it is very certain 
that self-denial, mortification, fasting, active be- 
neficence, and all Christian perfection, is taught 
by the church and her ministers, with great force 
of argument and authority. Every Christian may 
carry the moral discipline of his religion to what- 
ever lengths his conscience or inclination may urge 
him. 

It must be confessed, that such is the modera- 
tion of the church and her pastors in the present 
age, that the duties which they teach are not urged 
with that unnatural rigour which precludes the ra- 
tional enjoyment of life. It is a cheerful church, 
and for that reason the more estimable. It re- 
quires no excessive austerity. It aims at assist- 
ing poor erring mortals in overcoming their weak- 
ness and misery ; but it does not add to them, by 
requiring the sacrifice of health, ease, peace, so- 
ciety, cheerfulness, and innocent gaiety. It does 

M 



162 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



not condemn those, with whom it cannot agree in 
opinion, with uncharitable severity. It is gentle 
and candid ; it is accommodated to such a crea- 
ture as man, for ever aiming at good, but, from 
weakness, continually relapsing into some degree 
of evil. It does not, like the severe system of the 
over-righteous, inflame and aggravate the wounds 
of its patients, but, with lenient balsamics, assuages 
their anguish. 1 

And if the over-righteous object that regularly- 
bred ministers want vehemence and earnestness, 
I affirm that the objection cannot be universally 
well-founded. Men, having various degrees of ta- 
lents, and various degrees of sensibility, will have 
a correspondent variety in their modes of deli- 
very. The lively by nature, with very little sense 
of religion, may be animated in their discourses ; 
the dull by nature, with a meaning very honest 
and pious, will be poor orators. And it always 
happens, in a very large body of men, that some 
are idle and irreligious ; though circumstances 
may have led them to assume a profession where 
carelessness and impiety are doubly culpable. 
But such is the present state of human nature. 
He who demands more perfection than experience 
has ever yet known, is unreasonable and over- 
righteous. If some men have less pretension and 
less vehemence than those who are called] the 
over-righteous, they have probably less hypocrisy, 
less folly, and less spiritual arrogance. Over- 

1 By the church I wish to be understood all those who are 
united to Christ by the Holy Ghost, wherever they dwell, and 
by whatever denomination they are distinguished. The worlds 
in the scriptural sense, consists of all who are not so united. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



163 



righteousness, with all its pretensions to humility, 
is the parent as well as the child of pride. 

After all, let us remember that there is an un- 
der-righteousness (if I may use the term) as well 
as an over-righteousness; and that mankind are 
much apter to err from defect than excess. While 
hypocrisy and fanaticism are avoided, let us not, 
in the present times, be alarmed at danger from 
excessive piety. 



SECTION XXXIX. 

All extravagant and selfish Pretensions to the Spirit 
to be anxiously avoided, as they proceed from and 
cherish Pride, and are frequently accompanied 
with Immorality, 

Ostentatiously to pretend to greater portions of 
the Spirit than others, is alone a very unfavour- 
able symptom, as it is a presumptive proof of two 
wants, not compatible with the Spirit's benignant 
influence : — the want of humility, and the want of 
charity. It is no wonder, therefore, that those 
who have made such pretensions, have disgraced 
them by the wickedness of their lives; and have 
induced ill-judging men hastily to consider the 
whole doctrine of divine assistance as a mere de- 
lusion. 

m 2 



164 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Hypocrites, in fanatical times, when the appear- 
ance of extraordinary piety was conducive to ad- 
vancement in wealth and honours, were sure to go 
further in their pretensions, than the modesty of 
true professors could permit or excuse : but that 
deceitfulness of heart which produces hypocrisy, 
leads to all other bad conduct ; and religion has 
been disgraced by the singular profligacy of osten- 
tatious professors. 

Knaves of the very worst kind, who have no 
other object than to avail themselves of the cre- 
dulity of others, are likely at all times to put on a 
cloak and a mask, which may render them exter- 
nally respectable, and facilitate their purposes of 
deceit. Nothing seduces the ignorant and unex- 
perienced so easily as the appearance of extraor- 
dinary sanctity ; and nothing has been more fre- 
quently assumed, for the accomplishment of ambi- 
tious and lucrative designs. When these designs 
have been accomplished, the cloak and the mask 
have been thrown aside, as useless incumbrances, 
and the villain has stood forth in his proper shape 
and colour. 

Men of weak heads and warm hearts have pro- 
ceeded to the most extravagant lengths in preten- 
sions to sanctity ; and at the same time, from the 
want of solid virtue, have fallen into deplorable 
sins. Their sins derived additional deformity in 
the eyes of the people, from the contrast of as- 
sumed sanctity ; and the world was ready to ex- 
claim that all religion must be vain, if, in men 
who display so much of it, it contributes so little 
to wisdom and virtue. 

Great sinners, unwilling to tread the rugged 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY, 



165 



road of virtue, have thought it an easier and plea- 
santer mode of avoiding the consequences of their 
enormities, to persuade themselves of sudden con- 
versions, and peculiar favour from heaven ; and to 
compensate for inward impurity by outward sanc- 
tity, and for disobedience in things essential, by 
intemperate zeal in things indifferent, formal, and 
merely ostentatious. 

Thus spiritual pride, want of charity, hypocrisy, 
knavery, folly, and extreme wickedness, have given 
rise to extraordinary pretensions to the Spirit, and 
verified the observation, that the wickedest of man- 
kind have been among those who displayed the 
appearance of goodness and piety in the extreme. 

" The gradation has been," (says Dr. Trapp,) 
" righteous overmuch in practice — righteous over- 
much in practice and doctrine — immoral and 
profligate in both ; and this still with preten- 
sions to extraordinary measures of the Holy 
Spirit." 

But to what should a conviction of this truth 
lead the sober Christian ? Certainly not to deny 
the doctrine of supernatural assistance, which he 
finds in the gospel ; but to avoid all extravagance 
of pretension, all boasting, all over- righteousness, 
all preference of himself to others, on account of 
spiritual gifts, lest he also should find himself de- 
ceived and a deceiver. 

The religion of Christ is of a retired and re- 
served nature. Its most important transactions 
are in the recesses of the heart, and in the closet. 
It loves not noise nor ostentation. Let him, there- 
fore, who wishes to know whether he really has 
the Spirit, examine whether his virtues and good 
dispositions abound in retirement, and without 



166 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



the least parade whatever, or the smallest applause 
or reward of men. If he does good privately, and 
avoids the eyes of admirers, I think he may enter- 
tain an humble confidence that he has the favour 
of God. He has, in consequence, a source of 
joy within him, which no man taketh away. He 
has the bread of life, and feeds on it in his heart 
by faith with thanksgiving. He is silently and 
unostentatiously happy, neither courting the no- 
tice of the world, nor regarding its unjust censure. 
He is particularly careful, that no ill-treatment 
shall cause him to violate the law of charity. His 
chief concern is to bear and yet forbear ; to be 
rather than to seem good. 



SECTION XL. 

Affected Sanctity, Demureness, Canting, Sourness, 
Censoriousness, ignorant and illiterate Preaching, 
no marks of a State of Grace, but contribute to 
bring the whole Doctrine of Divine Energy into 
contempt, and to diffuse Infidelity. 

Religion is lovely. Her voice is melodious, and 
her aspect delightful. How has she been de- 
formed ! She has been taught to utter jargon 
with the hoarse croaking of the portentous raven, 
or to scream with the terrific howlings of the bird 
of night. Her face has been changed from the face 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



167 



of an angel to a gorgon's head, surrounded with 
snakes. She has been rendered a bugbear, ter- 
rifying all who approach her, instead of a gentle 
nursing mother, inviting wretched mortals to her 
fostering bosom, by the tenderest blandishments of 
maternal love. 

Men of natural sense, improved by a learned 
education, and polished by all the elegancies of 
cultivated life, have turned from her, thus dis- 
guised as she appears, with disgust and horror. 
They have devoted themselves to a seducing phi- 
losophy, and left religion, thus disfigured, to the 
gross vulgar, who they erroneously conceived 
were naturally attached to the horrors of a cruel 
and gloomy, as well as a silly, superstition. 

Is it not desirable to vindicate Christianity from 
such dishonour — to show that her most important 
doctrine, the doctrine of divine energy, leads to 
every disposition that is gentle, amiable, and be- 
nificent; that it exalts, refines, and mollifies the 
human bosom ; and while it kindles a lively and 
pleasant hope of future felicity, improves every 
real enjoyment of the present life ? Such a repre- 
sentation, and it certainly is a just one, must invite 
every man, who feels duly for himself or others, 
within the Christian pale. 

The Spirit is a spirit of truth, and therefore 
must be adverse to all affectation of sanctity, all 
studied severity of aspect and demeanour, intended 
only to excite external respect, and to impress on 
the spectators, often for the sake of interest, as 
well as from vanity, an idea of spiritual pre-emi- 
nence. The Spirit is a loving spirit, and therefore 
very unlike that of the sour, censorious pretenders, 
who condemn all innocent amusements, and think 



168 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



none capable of divine favour but themselves, and 
those who entertain their sentiments on points 
perfectly indifferent in the sight of God, and of 
every reasonable man. The Spirit is a spirit of 
wisdom, which implies a due degree of knowledge 
and ability for every undertaking we voluntarily 
engage in, and therefore cannot approve the preach- 
ing of illiterate persons, who are unacquainted, not 
only with the languages in which the Scriptures 
were written, but often with their own ; who are 
fitter to be catechumens than catechists ; to sit at 
the feet of Gamaliel, than to usurp his chair. 
Learning may not be requisite in the pious hearer, 
but it is certainly so in every one who assumes the 
office of an instructor. He is not an honest man, 
who professes and is paid to instruct others, with- 
out having exerted himself to the utmost to procure 
a competent store of knowledge. The operations of 
the Holy Spirit, accompanying his endeavours, may 
make a good Christian in his private capacity ; may 
give him faith and knowledge sufficient for his sal- 
vation ; but they do not, since the time of the apos- 
tles, bestow a knowledge of languages, or qualify 
alone, without the aids of human learning, for a 
teacher of theology. 

The annals of suicide, if any such there were, 
and the registers of Bedlam, might bear witness to 
the mischiefs caused by fanatical mechanics, with 
strong passions and imaginations, but of feeble and 
narrow intellects, wildly haranguing weak and aged 
men and women on their lost state, on their danger 
of eternal damnation, and a thousand other most 
awful matters, which at once puzzle the under- 
standings, and dismay the hearts of the deluded 
multitude. True Christianity shudders at the suf- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



169 



ferings of well-meaning devotees, wantonly inflict- 
ed by ignorant zealots, seeking self-importance, 
and gratifying the pride of their hearts, as leaders 
of a wretched tribe, whom noise and high preten- 
sions collect easily in every populous city, and in 
every poor neighbourhood, where the necessity of 
constant manual employment for the means of sub- 
sistence precludes all contemplation, and the im- 
provement of judgment that might result from it. 

In compassion to these people, who deserve every 
assistance, because they certainly intend every 
thing that is good, though they do and suffer great 
evil, through defect of judgment, I wish the regular 
clergy, both of the established and dissenting 
church, to feed them with the food in which they 
delight — the heavenly manna, the doctrine of grace. 
There is no doubt but that many of them do so 
occasionally ; but I submit it to them whether it 
ought not to be a leading and principal topic in 
every discourse inculcating morality. I beg leave 
to suggest that evangelical preaching, in which the 
doctrine of divine energy must always make a very 
considerable part, would keep their congregations 
from wandering after men, who have no other qua- 
lification for preaching but zeal, real or pretended ; 
zeal without knowledge, or a knowledge confined, 
superficial, and unaccompanied with general cha- 
rity or sound discretion. With all their defects, 
they do, however, preach the doctrine of grace. 
The people know this to be the genuine doctrine of 
the gospel, and therefore they flock by tens of 
thousands to hear it, regardless of the barbarism of 
the self-appointed orator, who leaves the loom and 
the last for the pulpit. 

The pearl of great price they estimate highly, 



170 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



however rudely it may be set ; but how much more 
would they prize it, if it were set, adequately to its 
immense value, in the purest gold, by the hand of 
a master ? If men of sound and extensive learn- 
ing, of true taste and eloquence, were to recom- 
mend it, with all the beauties of proper language, 
the field-preacher would rant in solitude, and the 
tabernacle would be empty. To them I refer the in- 
quirer, who wishes to know how little the most de- 
cent and studied discourses on morality, or practi- 
cal religion, avail to attract the people. Let him 
leave a while his books and library, and read the 
volume of real life. We have had enough of 
words, enough of systems, enough of controversy ; 
let us study and teach what is really and efficiently 
useful to the mass of the people, what improves 
human nature, renders life as comfortable as the 
condition of humanity will admit, and opens a 
pleasing prospect, when life must be relinquished, 
beyond the grave. 



SECTION XLI. 

Bishop Lavington's opinion, respecting the Extrava- 
gancies and Follies of fanatical Preachers, and 
Pretenders to the Spirit 

" Wherever I find great stress laid upon some 
imaginary, insignificant, or unintelligible peculi- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



171 



arities; the word of God turned into a conjuring- 
book ; the divine ordinances either lightly esteem- 
ed or imputed to the devil; good works either 
undervalued or trodden under foot ; wild-fire dan- 
gerously tossed about, instead of that light which 
came down from heaven ; puffing pretensions to 
extraordinary revelations, inspirations, usurping the 
name of the Holy One ; with personal conferences 
with God, face to face; enthusiastic ranters, compar- 
ing themselves with prophets and apostles, if not with 
Christ himself ; the most wild and extravagant beha- 
viour, the frenzies of a disturbed brain, or deluded 
imagination, the effects of fits, of a weak head, or dis- 
eased body, all turned into so many tests and marks 
of saintship ; the spirit of pride and vanity possess- 
ing the leaders ; a spirit of envy, rancour, broils, 
and implacable animosities, dashing each other in 
pieces ; a spirit of bitterness and uncharitableness 
towards the rest of mankind ; a progress through 
immorality, scepticism, infidelity, atheism, through 
spiritual desertions, despair, and madness, made 
the gate of perfection ; an imaginary new-birth to 
be brought to pass by means of real tortures, of 
some of the most exquisite pangs and sufferings 
that can affect human nature ; — I say, where these 
are found, and many more equally horrible, one 
may easily discern a wide difference between such 
a dispensation and genuine religion ; as well as the 
bungling hands that are substituting the former in 
the place of the other. One may easily see what 
strangers such inconsistent ramblers must be to the 
true devotion, as well as the comforts of a sedate, 
composed piety; to a firm belief of our Maker and 
Redeemer, and a constant reliance upon Provi- 



172 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



dence ; to a steady course of sincere, habitual, and 
unaffected religion ; to the cherishing of a warm 
love of God in the heart, and well-tempered zeal 
for the truths of his inspired word ; and all this 
proved by the love of our neighbour ; to a general 
observance and attendance on the means of grace, 
and a well-grounded hope of glory." 

From the wretched follies of fanatics, the mind 
turns with complacency to the gentle, benignant 
Spirit which guided a bishop Wilson, a Watts, a 
Doddridge, a Nelson, and a Home. Such men do 
honour to the doctrine of grace, and rescue it from 
the contempt under which it has fallen through the 
extravagance of weak devotees, and the unhappy 
ingenuity of scholastic theologists, explaining away, 
to show their skill, the strongest expressions of 
holy Scripture. 



SECTION XLII. 

Pride the great Obstacle to the general Reception of 
the Gospel of Grace. 

A proud, turbulent, and vindictive spirit is utterly 
incompatible with the spirit of Christianity ; but a 
proud, turbulent, and vindictive spirit constitutes 
what is called, in the world, a man of honour; and 
who can aspire at the distinctions and rewards 
which the world has to bestow, without aspiring at 
the character of a man of honour — without zealously 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



173 



maintaining it, in defiance of all which the Scrip- 
tures have taught us to consider as the will of God ? 
No wonder, then, that the genuine gospel, the 
Spirit, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, 
and easy to be entreated, should be utterly neg- 
lected by those who are more solicitous about the 
opinion of a few weak and wicked mortals like 
themselves, than about all that Christianity pro- 
mises or threatens ; who regard neither God nor 
man, when their own self-estimation is in the 
slightest degree depreciated. Submission of the 
temper and understanding, which is necessary for 
the reception of that evidence of Christianity which 
the Holy Ghost affords, is considered as contempti- 
ble meanness, by those who are full of themselves, 
and live only to flatter, for the sake of being re- 
flattered, in the circles of self-idolizing vanity. 

The doctrine of a participation with the divine 
nature, conceded by heaven to the faithful and 
pious of low degree, is highly mortifying to those 
who think the perfection of human nature consists 
in civil nobility, in blood, or in titles conferred by 
an earthly monarch. He who shares the divine 
nature, who is favoured with an emanation of 
Deity, is truly ennobled; for his very nature is 
exalted above the ordinary rank of humanity ; and 
according to the gospel, he is become the living 
temple of the Holy Ghost. That a poor man, such 
as were the apostles, and such as are many true 
Christians in the present day, should possess a 
nature raised above whatever earthly honours can 
bestow, is a doctrine offensive to all who have been 
taught to consider, as the chief good of man, the 
gratification of the pride of life. 

Scholars also, deep mathematicians, metaphy- 



174 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



sicians, and logicians, feel a sentiment of scorn, 
when they are told that a plain, simple, humble 
peasant, whose mind is rightly disposed, may re- 
ceive a portion of divine illumination, which shall 
contribute more to sound wisdom, and conse- 
quently to happiness, than all their minute and 
laborious disquisitions. Philosophy, towering, like 
Icarus, on wings made by the art of man, to the 
clouds, looks down with contempt on Religion, 
who associates with ignorant wretches, distin- 
guished by humility of rank as much as by hu- 
mility of disposition. Philosophy leaves the com- 
pany of a personage so mean, and frequently 
passes from a contempt of her, to downright hatred 
and enmity. 1 

Thus pride is a chief obstacle to the reception 
of the doctrine of evangelical grace. Pride blinds 
the eyes of the understanding against the evidence 
of the Holy Ghost. Pride causes hardness of heart, 
a quality the most odious to the divine, and most 
injurious to the human nature. It teaches us to 

1 The gentile or genteel philosopher too often hears with pain 
such sentiments of Christianity, as those of Erasmus in the fol- 
lowing passage : 

Existimo puram illam Christi philosophiam non aliunde 
faelicius hauriri quam ex evangelicis libris, quam ex apostolicis 
literis ; in quibus, si quis pie philosophetur, orans magis quam 
argumentans, nihil esse, quod ad hominis felicitatem, nihil quod 
ad ullam hujus vitae functionem pertineat, quod in his non sit 
traditum, discussum, et absolutum. Erasmus. — u I am of 
opinion that the genuine philosophy of Christ cannot be derived 
from any source so successfully, as from the books of the Gospel 
and the Epistles of the Apostles, in which, if a man philoso- 
phises with a pious spirit, praying rather than arguing, he will 
find that there is nothing conducive to the happiness of man, 
and the performance of any duty of human life, which is not, 
in some of these writings, laid down, discussed, and determined 
in a complete and satisfactory manner.'' 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY, 



175 



behold our inferiors, not only as not of the same 
flesh and blood with ourselves ; not only as little 
entitled to the comforts and advantages of this 
life ; but as unworthy of partaking with us in the 
divine favour, and the happiness of a glorified 
state. The doctrine of grace is considered by the 
men of the world as too great a leveller, to be 
freely admitted consistently with their own ideas 
of exclusive privileges, or of worldly policy. 1 It 
must therefore be cried down, wherever their au- 
thority can prevail. 2 

But surely their objection does it honour. It 
shows that the doctrine is favourable to the whole 
human race; that it is not narrow, partial, unjust; 
but, like the Author of all good, whence it flows, 
accepts not the persons of men, neither regards 
the transient and petty distinctions of rank, but 
shows favour to the meek and lowly, and to all 
that are good and true of heart, whether in the 
palace or in the cottage. 

Take comfort, ye poor and despised brethren; 
for God, by his gospel, has promised to bestow on 
you riches and honours, durable as they are solid, 
and such as no earthly power can confer or 
alienate : and would to heaven that they who trust 
in worldly riches and honours, could but behold 
in a true light their real poverty and dishonourable 

1 Yet they should remember, that death is a greater leveller, 
and one whom no policy or power can escape. 

^ c How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another ?' 
— John v. 44. 

Men lean on reeds, when they rely solely on each other for 
happiness and honour. Indeed, what real honour can one poor 
lost creature receive from another, who is exactly in the same 
condition, if without grace ? 

c Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' — 1 Cor. 10. 



176 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

state, when destitute of grace, or, in other words, 
the favour of the Almighty Sovereign, the Lord of 
lords, and the King of kings. 1 



SECTION XLIII. 

The universal Prevalence of the Holy Spirit — -the 
genuine Grace of the Gospel — highly conducive to 
the happiness of civil Society, as well as of Indi- 
viduals. 

It always appeared to me an absurdity, that men 
should act in their corporate capacity on such 
principles as, in their individual and private state, 
they would deem profligate. Public acts are the 

1 Nescit religio nostra personas accipere, nec conditiones 
hominum, sed animos inspirit singulorum. Servian ac nobilem 
de moribus pronunciat. Sola apud Deum libertas est non ser 
vire peccatis. Summa apud Deum est nobilitas clarum esse 
virtutibus. Hieronymus ad Celantiam, Ep. xiv. — " Our religion 
knows not to accept the persons of men ; neither does it regard 
the external condition, but the internal disposition. It pro- 
nounces a man a lord or a slave according to his morals. The 
only liberty in the sight of God is not to be the servant of sin. 
The highest nobility before him is to become illustrious for 
virtue." 

Euyf veia de, rj tkjq ukovoq Tijprjffig, tcai Trpog to apx STV7rov 
eZofiOKoffiQ, r\v spya^erai Xoyog /cat apery.— Greg. Naz. in 
Orat. xi. — u Nobility is the preservation of the image of God, 
a resemblance of the great model of all excellence, both which 
are effected by reason and virtue." — Greg. Naz. 

Evyeveiav 8e Xeyoj, ov% nv 01 ttoWoi vofiiZovcnv awaye' 
a\\' rjv evaeteia xapaKTiipiZei koI Tpoirog, kcii rj wpog to 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



177 



acts of private men ; and wherever public acts 
are immoral, it may be concluded, that those who 
sanction them in a body, are, as separate members, 
insincere friends of virtue, and hypocritical pro- 
fessors of religion. Offensive war, and treache- 
rous violation of the most solemn treaties, could 
never be countenanced by whole nations of Chris- 
tians, if the individuals were actuated by the sen- 
timents of true Christianity. 

It has been said, that we are not to look for the 
effects of Christianity in national acts or public 
councils. Why not? Are they not men and 
Christians, who perform national acts, and com- 
pose public councils ? When a man gives a vote 
for any public measure, or advises the supreme 
magistrate, does he drop the Christian in the voter 
or the counsellor ? Common sense revolts at the 
idea of the same men's renouncing their identity, 
splitting themselves into several characters, and 
acting in one inconsistently with their most serious 
duties and solemn engagements in another, which, 
at the same time, they profess zealously to support. 
Misery unutterable arises to the human race, from 
this duplicity. The sanctity assumed in one cha- 
racter throws a false glare and varnish over the 
villany practised in the other, and makes it pass 
current by authority. 

A man who is a real Christian, not a political 
conformist only, will be a Christian in his public 
conduct as well as in his private. He will be a 

7rpu)Tov ayaQov avodog. Idem, in Orat. xxiii. — " When I 
speak of nobility, I mean not that which the vulgar herd deem 
such. Far from it. I mean that which piety and good morals 
characterize ; and a return to the first good, to the original state, 
from which human nature has fallen." 

M 



178 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Christian statesman and member of parliament, 
no less than a Christian father, husband, and 
neighbour. 

Now, no man is a Christian in name only, when 
his Christianity arises from the operation and evi- 
dence of the Holy Ghost. His very heart is con- 
verted. The whole man is renewed. He is no 
longer a proud, selfish, cruel being, greedily seek- 
ing his own fancied gratification, at the expense 
of other men's happiness, but guided in all his 
conduct by the sentiment of love. The law of 
kindness governs all his actions. His wisdom is 
gentle ; and he uses power, if he possesses it, in 
imitation of the all-powerful Being above, in dif- 
fusing blessings to all who are within the sphere 
of his influence. 

Suppose, then, kings, and rulers of all descrip- 
tions, under the benign operation of the Christian 
spirit, and consequently firm believers and de- 
fenders of Christianity. Unnecessary wars imme- 
diately cease. The prophecies of Isaiah are ac- 
complished. Swords and spears are converted 
into pruning-hooks and plough-shares. The lion 
fondles the lamb, without an inclination to de- 
vour it. 

The people, feeling the blessings of such govern- 
ment, and actuated by the gentle affections of 
charity, become cordially attached to it, and to 
each other. Universal tranquillity reigns. The 
whole society, both the governed and govern- 
ing, co-operate in adding to the comforts and 
diminishing the evils of life; piety to God 
and love to man display the vital efficacy of the 
gospel, and prove that it is not a cunningly de- 
vised fable, invented by priests for the support of 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



179 



kingly power, but the lively energy of God, actu- 
ating the human bosom, and restoring man to that 
perfection of nature by the second Adam, which 
was lost by the disobedience of the first in para- 
dise. 

The truest patriotism, therefore, is to revive or 
diffuse genuine Christianity ; to teach men to seek 
and to find the grace of God through Christ Jesus. 
This is the philosophy which should be taught 
from the chairs of our universities and the pulpits 
of our churches. It would not then fall to the 
illiterate and fanciful mechanic, who often dis- 
graces it, not only by ignorance of all other sci- 
ence, but too often by a violence of passion and 
malignity of temper, which seem to evince that 
he does not possess what he so warmly recom- 
mends to his audience. 

Christianity is so far from unfitting man for so- 
ciety, as the calumniators have said, that its graces 
and virtues are peculiarly social. It teaches every 
thing that is just and kind. It is the false, mis- 
taken, hypocritical, and, above all, the political 
Christianity, which has been the cause of mischief 
and misery. This has ever been used as a cloak 
for maliciousness. But where the Spirit of God, 
the living gospel of immediate grace, goes hand 
in hand with the written gospel, there every thing 
lovely, friendly, and beneficial, is the natural and 
unavoidable result. The root is good, and the 
fruit delicious and salubrious in the highest degree. 
May the tree spread its umbrageous branches over 
the land, and all the people take refuge and seek 
solace under its expanded foliage! The throne 
that is established in righteousness is fixed on the 
Rock of ages ; and the people who have the Lord 

N 2 



180 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



for their God and King, shall never know the woes 
of captivity and desolation. 

Christian philosophy purifies society by puri- 
fying the fountain of human actions — the heart of 
man. Heathen philosophy often consisted of no- 
thing more than fine sayings, pleasing to the ima- 
gination, but leaving the heart uninfluenced and 
the conduct unreformed. 

Some of these heathens, who wrote the finest 
morality, it is well known, practised, and even 
obliquely recommended, with all the charms of 
wit and eloquence, vices which degrade man below 
the brute. 



SECTION XLIV. 

Of Holiness — its true Meaning, and absolute 
Necessity. 

Let a man's mind be holy, and he will not doubt 
one moment of the truth of Christianity. It is not 
enough to be learned or sagacious ; it must be holy ; 
and then the more learned or the more sagacious, 
so much the more firmly will its belief be fixed, 
and so much the better enabled to extend the faith. 
Bacon, Boyle, Locke, Newton, Milton, Addison, 
Lord Chief Justice Hales, possessed intellects as 
vigorous as ever fell to the lot of human beings, 
but they were educated piously as well as learnedly, 
according to the manners of their times. They 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



181 



lived holily ; the Spirit of grace took early posses- 
sion of their hearts, and they became not only be- 
lievers but defenders of the faith. Not to their 
learning, but to their holiness, be the glory. They 
saw God by the eye of faith, not of philosophy. 

There is one qualification, without which we 
shall never be admitted to the favour of God, or to 
celestial felicity in the mansions of future glory, 
and it is holiness. 

Without this, we read, no man shall see the 
Lord. 6 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, 
without which no man shall see the Lord.' 1 

No words can be plainer, and more express than 
these. A question naturally arises in the mind of 
every thinking man, — in what consists this quality, 
which is indispensably necessary to securing the 
beatific privilege of enjoying the divine presence ? 
What is holiness ? 

The excellent Joseph Mede informs us, that 
" sanctity, or holiness, imports discrimination," — or 
distinction from other things, by way of exaltation 
and pre-eminence. 2 

God himself is originally, absolutely, and essen- 
tially holy ; man, only by communication. 

Holiness, I therefore understand to be that state 
in which God vouchsafes to man his holy Spirit, 
and discriminates him from those who, rejecting 
his offers of grace, presumptuously adhere to the 

1 Heb. xii. 14. 2 Thus Kimchi, 

•a >D>n "ikwd ^nnnf? nnttf amp 

" To sanctify the sabbath, is to separate it from other days." 

•n^i?oa nnKoi^mn vsv «in nunip na^> bi O r 3 

" Because all words of sanctity import a thing separated from 
other things, by way of pre-eminence or excellency." 

Joseph Mede. 



182 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



world and its vanities; who neglect religion entirely, 
and who live without God in the world, despisers 
of his grace. To be holy, is to be refined, by the 
Spirit of God, from the corruptions of the world ; 
to be separated from sin and impurity, like the 
metal from the base alloy. 

He, therefore, who would see the Lord, must, by 
obedience, seek the manifestation of the Spirit; 
by prayer obtain the divine assistance, and thus be 
admitted to a participation of the divine nature : 
6 according as his divine power hath given unto us 
all things that pertain unto life and godliness, 
through the knowledge of him that hath called us 
to glory and virtue ; whereby are given unto us ex- 
ceeding great and precious promises, that by these 
we might be partakers of the divine nature, having 
escaped the corruption that is in the world through 
lust/ 1 

The happy state of holiness constitutes the true 
dignity of human nature. This at once purifies 
and elevates it. The man who possesses it, enjoys 
this world with calm complacency, while he rises 
superior to it, and hopes for a better in reversion. 
He acts rightly, yet never rigidly ; he always tem- 
pers justice with kindness and mercy ; his whole 
behaviour is gentle, flowing from an internal 
principle of benevolence. The fear of God and the 
love of man operate on his heart as the main springs 
of all his activity. To express his conduct in Scrip- 
ture language, he does justice, loves mercy, and 
walks humbly with his God. 

Behaviour thus amiable and beneficent is the 
surest proof of holiness. Great pretensions, sancti- 



2 Pet. i. 4. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



183 



monious deportment, a rigid observance of external 
ceremonies, and a pertinacious adherence to parti- 
cular doctrines, are all consistent with an unholy 
state, with self-deceit, and with hypocrisy. But 
he who is kindly affectioned to his fellow-creatures 
with brotherly love; he who is unostentatiously 
pious, and displays the fruits of the Spirit by good 
works, he can entertain little doubt of seeing God ; 
seeing the truth of his word, and enjoying his pre- 
sence in the living temple of his heart, thus conse- 
crated by the influence of the Holy Ghost. 

A delightful serenity attends that state of holi- 
ness, which arises from an humble confidence in 
God ; such as would render it devoutly to be wished 
for, if its consequence extend only to the pleasur- 
able enjoyment of this life. It causes our journey 
to resemble a passage through those charming coun- 
tries, where the air is genially soft, the sky clear, 
and the prospect variegated with every beauty of 
nature. The cold, shivering, self-dependent mortal, 
who walks through the world all solitary, who has 
not God for his friend and companion, may be com- 
pared to the forlorn savage, prowling for prey far 
from the solar beam, in the regions near the pole. 
How would he rejoice in the warm sunshine and 
sweet serenity of an Italian climate ! 



184 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XLV. 

Of a good Heart. 

The most desirable treasure which a human being 
can possess, whether he has regard to his own hap- 
piness or to those around him, is a good heart. In 
every situation, and under all circumstances, this 
will furnish a store of sweets which the wicked can- 
not obtain ; and delicious though it is, would not 
relish, so vitiated is their taste : a good heart com- 
municates liberally the pleasures it enjoys ; blessed 
or blessing in every emotion. 

But what constitutes a good heart ? The grace 
of God operating upon it. The mild, gentle, heal- 
ing spirit of the gospel ; or, to use the language of 
Scripture, the unction of the Holy Ghost, mollify- 
ing its hardness, and preserving it from corruption. 1 

1 Beautiful is the description which Lactantius gives of the 
effect of Christianity in meliorating the disposition. I will tran- 
scribe his words : 

Da mihi virum, qui sit iracundus, maledicus, effraenatus : 
paucissimis Dei verbis tarn placidum quani ovem reddam. Da 
cupidum, avarum, tenacem : jam tibi eum liberalem dabo et 
pecuniam suam plenis manibus largientem. Da crudelem et 
sanguinis appetentem ; jam in veram clementiam furor ille mu- 
tabitur. Da injustum, insipientem, peccatorem : continuo et 
squus et prudens et innocens erit. Uno enim lavacro malitia 
omnis abolebitur. Tanta divinae sapientias vis est, ut in homi- 
nis pectus diffusa, matrem delictorum, stultitiam, uno semel im- 
petu expellat ; ad quod efficiendum, non mercede, non libris, 
non lucubrationibus opus est. Gratis ista fiunt, facile, cito ; 
modo pateant aures et pectus sapientiam sitiat : num quis haec 
philosophorum aut unquam praestitit aut praestare potuit ? Lact. 
Inst. lib. ii. c. 26. — " Give me a man who is choleric, abusive 
in his language, headstrong and unruly ; with a very few words, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



l&O 



This it is which forms a good heart, and a good 
heart is a land of Canaan to itself, a land flowing 
with milk and honey. 

All the irascible passions are, in their excess* 
diabolical. They are the fruitful sources of mi- 
sery. They would unparadise the garden of Eden, 
and turn the cheerful light of heaven into gloomy 
darkness, like the shadow in the valley of death. 
There is in the world much natural evil ; there are 
pains, and diseases enough, to wean the heart from 
the immoderate love of it ; but none of them are 
productive of wretchedness so great and difficult of 
cure as the malignant passions of pride, envy, and 
revenge. These estrange man from man, and con- 
vert the haunts of human creatures into dens of 
foxes and wolves. Cheats, calumniators, robbers, 
murderers, in all their variety and degrees of flagi- 
tiousness, are characters naturally flowing from 

(the words of God,) I will render him as gentle as a lamb. 
Give me a greedy, miserly, close-fisted man ; and I will pre- 
sently return him to you a generous creature, freely bestowing 
his money by handfuls . Give me a cruel, blood-thirsty wretch ; 
instantly his ferocity shall be transformed to a truly mild and 
merciful disposition. Give me an unjust man, a foolish man, a 
sinful man ; and on a sudden, he shall become honest, wise, and 
virtuous. In one laver (the laver of regeneration) all his wicked- 
ness shall be washed away. So great is the efficacy of the 
divine (or Christian) philosophy, that when once admitted into 
the human heart, it expels folly, the parent of all vice ; and in 
accomplishing this great end, there is no occasion for any ex- 
pense, no absolute need of books or deep and long study or me- 
ditation. The benefit is conferred gratuitously, easily, expediti- 
ously ; provided that the ears and the heart thirst after the wis- 
dom (from above.) Did any, or could any, of the heathen 
philosophers accomplish such important purposes as these ?" 

Thus appears the superiority of Christian philosophy, in a 
moral view, over all other philosophy. Lactantius had been a 
heathen philosopher, and speaks experimentally. 



186 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



hearts unsoftened, unenlightened, unhallowed by 
the Spirit of grace. 

But behold the Christian. Gentleness and sweet- 
ness beam from his eyes, and illumine his counte- 
nance with a mild lustre. Good humour predomi- 
nates in all his demeanour. He has no concealed 
rage rankling in his bosom ; he has no sinister and 
selfish views, under a studied openness of counte- 
nance. He converses with a generous frankness. 
His bosom is transparent. You are perfectly safe 
with him. He will serve you, if possible, as well as 
please you ; but he will never injure you purposely, 
or give you the smallest pain. He feels compla- 
cency in all the good he sees around him, and de- 
lights in augmenting it. His treasure is within 
him. His interest is in heaven. His ambition is 
for objects above the world ; so that nothing in it 
is of value enough, in his estimation, to tempt him 
to resign the tranquillity of innocence, to renounce 
the pleasures of a friendly and benevolent disposi- 
tion. He has all the ingenuous simplicity of the 
infantine age, and you delight in him, as in the 
harmless babe, who sports around you, and ex- 
presses his pains and pleasures according to the 
dictates of uncorrupted nature. 

Such is man, when his natural asperities are 
smoothed, and his inborn bitterness sweetened 
by the benign operation of celestial influence. 
Compared with the mere natural man, he is an 
angel. Is it not desirable thus to raise human na- 
ture, and thus to improve society ; thus to render 
the earthly existence almost an anticipation of 
what our imperfect imaginations picture of the 
heavenly ? Heathen philosophy cannot effect it. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



187 



Heathen philosophy is confined to a few, in com- 
parison with the myriads that compose the great 
mass of human beings ; who weary themselves in 
pursuit of happiness on this terraqueous globe. 
The experiment has been tried by the philosophers 
of all ages, and failed. But religion can effect it. 
Yet what religion ? A religion founded on histo- 
rical faith, and heathen morality ? No ; it must 
be a vital religion — a divine influence on the heart, 
which is plainly promised and announced in the 
glad tidings of the gospel. This is the true euange- 
lion, or good news, 1 to the human race. It is au- 
thenticated by the written gospel, and there is a 
witness within us which renders it unquestionable. 
Happy they who have obeyed the voice which 
commands, saying, ( My son, give me thy heart !' 2 
When the heart is devoted to Christ, the under- 
standing will make no resistance to his doctrines, 
but humbly acknowledge the most inexplicable 
mysteries to be above, yet not contrary to, reason. 

1 What news was it to mankind to tell them what Pythagoras, 
Socrates, Epictetus, Cicero, and many others, had told them be- 
fore — the expediency of moral virtue, justice, temperance, forti- 
tude ? The glad tidings were the announcing the comfort and 
assistance of the Holy Grhost, redemption, pardon, peace, and the 
resurrection. This was an euangelion, or acceptable message 
from heaven by him who had the Spirit without measure. 
John, iii. 34. c Except your righteousness exceed the righteous- 
ness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into 
the kingdom of heaven.' Matt v. 20. But the righteousness 
(or morality) of the heathens was that of the Scribes and Pha- 
risees. It was the righteousness of the law, not of the gospel. 

2 Proverbs, xxiii. 26. 



18S 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



SECTION XLVI 

On the superior Morality of the Christian Philosophy. 

The operation of divine grace being no other than 
the melioration of our hearts, the purifying of the 
very fountain of our actions, it must of necessity 
lead to the practice of virtue, or, in the language of 
Scripture, f to good works.' It is a gross calumny 
to say that the true doctrine of grace is unfavour- 
able to morality. It inevitably produces every 
thins: that is lovelv and useful in social intercourse. 
The Holy Spirit's residence in the heart is incon- 
sistent with vice and malevolence. It requires, 
indispensably, both personal purity and social 
love : and they who endeavour to obtain it, must 
begin and persevere in the practice of every mo- 
ral virtue. 

The love of God and of mankind are the two 
main springs w T hich actuate every Christian, who 
is regenerated by grace. 

The love of God was not enforced by heathen 
philosophy. The love of man was indeed frequent- 
ly, though feebly, recommended; but at the same 
time, many dispositions of mind were held honour- 
able, and worthy of cultivation, which are often 
inconsistent with the love of man. Such are valour 
in war, revenge, love of glory, and of conquest. 

The love of God must have the most favourable 
influence on moral conduct ; for no obedience is 
so perfect as that which arises from affection. It 
is the alert, cordial, sincere obedience of a dutiful 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



189 



child to a tender parent. It anticipates his will, 
and is desirous, in its honest zeal to please, of 
going even beyond the line prescribed by parental 
authority. 

And what is the love of God, but the love of 
goodness, purity, rectitude ? Love not only ad- 
mires, but endeavours to imitate the object of its 
affection. The love of God, therefore, produces 
a conduct as godlike as the condition of infirm hu- 
manity can admit. Hence St. John says, very 
strongly and truly, ( This is the love of God, 
' that we keep his commandments.' 1 It is a na- 
tural and unavoidable consequence of loving the 
supreme perfection, that we imitate the qualities 
in which it consists — purity, justice, mercy, every 
thing that we can conceive of permanent goodness 
and beauty. Such is the first hinge of Christian 
morality. 

And the second resembles it, in its benign 
effects on human nature, and the state of society. 

It is the love of our fellow-creature ; not merely 
friendship, which is often founded only on petty 
interest and mutual amusement; but universal 
philanthropy, extending even to enemies. Every 
man, under the operation of this liberal affection, 
is considered and cherished as a friend and neigh- 
bour. We are taught to love them as ourselves, 
and to do to them as we wish they should do 
to us. 

This extensive law of love is peculiar to our 
lawgiver, the blessed Jesus. He calls it a new 
commandment. He makes it the distinguishing 
characteristic of the gospel. He proposes his 



1 1 John, v. 3. 



190 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



own example, to enforce obedience to it. ' This 
is my commandment,' says he, ' that ye love one 
another as I have loved you.' 1 

But neither the love of God nor the love of 
man will exist in our hearts, in a due degree of 
ardour or sincerity, without the divine influence. 
The natural man loves the world and himself too 
well, to admit, whatever he may pretend or pro- 
fess, affections so liberal, sublime, and disinte- 
rested. He loves mammon more than God; and 
as for the love of his fellow-creatures, he wears a 
false appearance of it, a studied politeness, cour- 
teousness, and affability, for the sake of availing 
himself of their assistance in gratifying avarice, 
ambition, and the love of pleasure ; but he hates, 
envies, or utterly neglects, all who contribute 
neither to his sordid gain, nor to his personal gra- 
tification. Grace alone can soften and liberalize 
his contracted bosom. Grace alone can render 
him sincerely, secretly, and impartially virtuous; 
and the best Christian is the best member of civil 
society. 

Let him who doubts the excellence of Christian 
morality, read our Saviour's sermon on the mount, 
with the discourses formed upon it by Blair, 2 
Blackall, and other great divines of the English 
church. He will be struck with its pre-eminent 
beauty and utility. Indeed the whole body of 
English sermons founded on the gospel, exhibits 
a system of morality which the world never saw 
before, and which would never have existed with- 
out the evangelical code. I earnestly recommend 

1 John, xv. 12. 

? James Blair, M. A. president of William and Mary Col- 
lege in America. 



191 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



to general perusal bishop Gastrell's little book, 
entitled, Christian Institutes. 



SECTION XL VII. 

The true Genius and Spirit of Christianity produc- 
tive of a certain tenderness of Conscience, or 
feeling of Rectitude, more favourable to right Con- 
duct, than any Deductions of unassisted Reason 
or heathen Morality. 

A ma.n, rightly disposed by the influence of ge- 
nuine Christianity, becomes a law unto himself, 
in all circumstances and situations. A divine 
temper, superinduced by divine energy on the 
heart, produces right conduct, just as a tree 
grafted with a kindly scion, brings forth fruit both 
delicious and salutary, under the natural operation 
of showers and sunshine. 

A true Christian has constantly impressed upon 
his mind a sense of God's presence, and a convic- 
tion that he is responsible to his Father in heaven 
for all his conduct. This keeps him in awe, 
mixed with love. He fears to do wrong, not with 
a servile fear, but an affectionate reverence for his 
all-powerful friend, who has shown him great fa- 
vour, and at the same time required, in return for 
it, obedience to his injunctions, as a condition of 
its continuance. He loves God from his heart ; an 
affection, which comprehends in it the love of every 



192 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



thing that is good in moral conduct, every thing 
pure and holy in his own person, every thing bene- 
ficent to society. 

The residence of the Holy Ghost in the Chris- 
tian's heart increases his moral sensibility. He 
sees with greater acuteness the good and beau- 
tiful 1 in behaviour; he feels with additional vi- 
vacity the emotions of benevolence. It gives him 
pain, it does violence to his very nature, thus 
sublimed, to act basely, unjustly, unkindly. He 
knows that the divine principle within him will 
not inhabit a polluted shrine; but will take of- 
fence 2 and depart, if the temple be profaned by 
immorality. 

Casuistry, or long and abstruse reasonings on 
the moral fitness or unfitness of actions, are to- 
tally unnecessary to the man whom the heavenly 
teacher has instructed. His determinations ad- 
mit not such cold delay or doubtful hesitation. 
His heart turns, like the needle to the pole, with 
tremulous, yet certain propensity, to the point of 
rectitude. From the infirmity of human nature, 
and the violence of temptation, he may decline a 
little to the right or to the left ; but the attraction 
to heaven and virtue still acts upon and prevents 
his total aberration. Touched by heaven, he ac- 
quires a kind of polarity, which causes him to 
point thither without any inclination to deviate. 

Hence he is above the schools of the heathen 
moralists. He displays that superiority which 
Jesus Christ most justly claims over Socrates. 
Yet he may enjoy the beautiful compositions of 

1 Ka\oKCiya9ia. 

2 Res delicata est Dei Spiritus. Tertull. — " The Spirit of 
God is delicate," i. e. easily disgusted with moral impurity. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



193 



the ancients, if his education has enabled him to 
understand them. He may be pleased and in- 
structed with their fine observations on life and 
manners, and the great advances they made in 
ethics, by the light of nature. But though he 
may derive great benefit from them, though he 
may be both informed and advised by them, yet 
he sees them defective, and finds that they are not 
absolutely necessary to accomplish the Christian, 
who, by the written word of Scripture, accompa- 
nied by the Spirit's ministration, becomes suf- 
ficiently enlightened for the practice of the purest 
morality, and wise unto salvation. By Christian 
philosophy, he experiences not only illumination, 
but assistance : he is taught the way that he should 
go, and led by the hand in his journey. 

I conclude, then, from this tender sensibility 
to right and wrong, and this propensity to kind- 
ness, which the supernatural agency of the Spirit 
causes in the heart, that true Christianity, such as 
is founded on the vital influence of the Spirit, 
makes the best moralists, and most useful and 
worthiest members of society. And as Christian 
philosophy is attainable by all, and not confined 
to the rich or the learned, it appears to me, that 
even politicians, who consider only the prosperity 
and peace of nations, would evince the highest 
wisdom, in first cultivating it themselves, and 
then encouraging it, by all prudent modes, among 
the people. 

When a whole community shall become, by the 
preaching of evangelical doctrines, and the exam- 
ple of the great, subject to the power of con- 
science, warmed with the love of God, and all man- 
kind, " just and good, true and sincere, meek, 

o 



194 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



humble, tender-hearted, and compassionate ; con- 
tent, temperate, pure, and heavenly-minded ; then 
will men become each a law to himself," and all 
civil government will be greatly facilitated, while 
the general happiness is secured without wars and 
fightings, without tumult and discord, without 
capital punishments, without any of that severe 
coercion, which creates partial evil for the sake of 
the general security. 

Such a state, it will be said, is chimerical and 
Utopian. I fear, in the present corruptions of 
Christianity, it may be visionary. But every ap- 
proach to it is desirable, as it is an approach to the 
happiness and perfection to which man is formed 
to aspire; and therefore, it will behove all those 
who possess power, not for sordid purposes, but the 
general good, to hasten and extend the reign of 
grace. They should say, with heart as well as 
voice, 'thy kingdom come.' 



SECTION XL VIII. 

The great Advantage of Christian Philosophy being 
taught by a commanding authority. 

When mere men teach, they submit their lessons 
to the judgment of their hearers, who usually as- 
sume the office of critics, while they appear in the 
character of disciples. They will learn only what 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



195 



pleases their taste, or is approved by their judg- 
ment. But Jesus Christ, being filled with the 
Spirit of God, taught with commanding authority. 
' I and the Father are one/ says he. ' I speak not 
of myself, but of him that sent me. Whoso keep- 
eth my sayings, shall not taste of death.' 

What heathen philosopher ever dared to come 
forward, as a teacher of mankind, with such weigh- 
ty words as these ? But it will be found, that 
however a few among mankind may be disposed to 
listen to calm reasonings, the great mass is most 
effectually taught what is fair and what is base, 
what is useful and what destructive, 1 by the voice 
of well-founded authority. 

The Scriptures, especially those of the New 
Testament, have long obtained this authority. 
We read them, not as we read any other book, of 
the wisest of mortals; not as judges, empowered 
to condemn or approve ; but as pupils or depen- 
dents listen to the commands of an acknowledged 
master, whom they, at the same time, love and 
fear ; and whose commands they are sensible, are 
for their good, however disagreeable the duty which 
they prescribe. We consult them as an oracle. 
But we do not so consult the Dialogues of Plato, or 
the Manual of Epictetus. 

" There are," says the author of the Light of 
Nature pursued, "many excellent sentiments of 
God and morality interspersed in the writings of 
the ancients: but those writings are studied by 
few, and read chiefly for curiosity and amusement, 
regarded as ingenious compositions, showing a 
sagacity and justness of thought in the authors. 

1 Quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non. 

Hor. 

O 2 



196 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



They make some impression in the reading, which 
quickly dies away again, upon laying the book 
aside ; as Tully tells us was his case, with respect 
to Plato upon the immortality of the soul. Whereas 
the Testament is the first book we are taught to 
read, to receive as the oracle of God, containing 
the way to salvation, which, at our almost peril, 
we must not disregard, and the truth whereof it 
is a sin to doubt : therefore, whatever is drawn 
thence, comes accompanied with a reverence, and 
idea of great importance, which give a force to the 
impression, Let a man take for his thesis the 
stoical maxim, " Things out of our power are no- 
thing to us," and descant upon the imprudence of 
solicitude and anxiety for future events, which we 
can no ways prevent or provide against, it will 
not work the effects which the very same discourse 
might do, pronounced from the pulpit, upon the 
text, ' Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.' " 

Where is the uninspired philosopher, who can 
address mankind with the authority of St. Paul P 
( My speech and my preaching/ says he to the Co- 
rinthians, ' is not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom, but with demonstration of the Spirit and 
power, that your faith might not be in the wisdom 
of men, but in the power of God (accompanying 
and enforcing my words.) We speak the wisdom 
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, 
which none of the princes of this world knew, but 
which God hath revealed unto us by his Spirit, the 
-a Badrj tov Beov, the depths of God. We have 
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit 
which is of God ; that we might know the things 
that are freely given to us of God; which things 
also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



197 



teacheth, explaining the things of the Spirit, 1 (the 
instructions of the Spirit,) in the language of the 
Spirit.' 2 Again, to the Ephesians he says, ' The 
mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not 
made known to the sons of men, is now revealed 
unto his holy apostles and prophets, by the Spirit.' 3 
' For this cause/ he adds in another place, ' thank 
we God without ceasing, because, when ye re- 
ceived the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye 
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in 
truth, the word of God.' 4 He gives also a me- 
nacing admonition to those who should despise 
his directions, as despising not man, but God. 
' He that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, 
who hath given unto us his Holy Spirit.' 5 

Such is the commanding authority with which 
Christianity addresses itself to men, including, in 
its peculiar doctrines and sublime mysteries, the 
finest ethics, though not systematically delivered, 
which the world ever saw. Let it be considered 
what an advantage it is to have even the best hea- 
then morality inculcated with the sanction of com- 
mandments from the all-wise and all-powerful Cre- 
ator. Such is now the case where Christianity 
prevails. And would it be wise, even in a politi- 
cal sense, though policy is a very inferior consi- 
deration, to suffer a mode of teaching men to be 
just and good, thus efficacious, thus firmly and ex- 
tensively established, to fall into neglect ? When 
will the politicians of the world again obtain so 
powerful an engine ? What have they to substi- 
tute, if they break or take away the main spring 

1 See Wolf. Cur. Critic, in Loc. and Chapman's Eusebius. 

2 ] Cor. ii. 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13. 3 Ephes. iii. 5. 
4 1 Thess. ii. 13. * I Thess. iv. 8. 



198 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



of this most efficacious long-tried machine ? I 
beg leave to apologize for using so degrading a 
term. I am speaking, in their own language, to 
the worldly-wise, who despise the gospel. 

Some universal, authoritative code of moral 
law is wanted to instruct the million, high and 
low, rich and poor, with great and certain effect . 
What teacher, from the schools of philosophy, 
ancient or modern, if he deprive us of Christi- 
anity, can supply the defect ? Will he not strive 
to supply it, but suffer mankind to lapse into ig- 
norance, barbarism, and brutality ? He may give 
us a laboured system. But nothing which the 
most ingenious and learned can invent, however 
excellent its rules and precepts, can gain the ad- 
vantage which Christianity already possesses by 
its authority alone. Time, and the concurrence 
of whole nations, have combined with its own ex- 
cellence to render it impressive beyond any hu- 
man system. It is adapted to the poor and un- 
learned, of which the majority of mankind, in all 
ages and countries, consist. It speaks to them as 
a voice from heaven, and it will be heard. 

But its authority must be infinitely increased, 
when men shall be convinced that the written gos- 
pel is accompanied at the present hour, and will 
be to the end of time, with the ministration of the 
Spirit, the actual operation of the Holy Ghost, 
vivifying and illuminating the divine principle 
within us. Christian philosophy is a sun ; while 
all other, to use the poet's language, is, compara- 
tively, but ' darkness visible.' 

Christ taught as one having authority. Christ 
spake as never man spake ; and they who hear 
him with faith, will, through the operation of the 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 199 

Holy Ghost, possess a wisdom and a happiness 
which man never knew how to bestow, and can 
never take away. 



SECTION XLIX. 

Morality, or Obedience to the Commandments of God 
in social Intercourse and Personal Conduct, re- 
markably insisted upon in the Gospel. 

That most injurious calumny, which asserts that 
the doctrine of grace is unfavourable to the purest 
virtue and the most beneficent behaviour in civil 
society, must be refuted in the mind of every rea- 
sonable and impartial man, who attends to the fol- 
lowing passages of Scripture : 

' He that hath my commandments, and keepeth 
them, he it is that loveth me. If ye love me, keep 
my commandments. If a man love me, he will 
keep my words. He that loveth me not, keepeth 
not my sayings. Every branch in me that beareth 
not fruit, he taketh away ; and every branch that 
beareth fruit, he purgeth it. Ye are my friends, if 
ye do whatsoever I command you. If ye continue 
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. 
Hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep 
his commandments. Whoso keepeth his word, in 
him verily is the love of God perfected : hereby know 
we that we are in him. Every man that has this 
hope in him, purifieth himself. Little children, 



200 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



let no man deceive you : he that doeth righteous- 
ness is righteous ; he that committeth sin is of the 
devil. Whoso is born of God, sinneth not, whoso- 
ever doth not righteousness, is not of God. Pure 
religion and undefiled before God and the Father, 
is this — to visit the fatherless and widows in their 
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
world. Be not deceived ; neither fornicators, nor 
idolaters, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, 
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the king- 
dom of God.' 1 

It were easy to cite a great many more pas- 
sages of the same moral importance ; but the writ- 
ten gospel is in the hands of all, and there no one 
can search, with a fair and candid mind, without 
finding the purest virtue enforced on the strongest 
motives that can possibly actuate a human creature. 

The truth is, that the very same care and caution, 
the same virtuous exertions, are necessary to Chris- 
tians, as if there were no supernatural and auxiliary 
interposition. Our endeavours must not be relaxed 
in the smallest degree. The difference and ad- 
vantage lies in the result and effect of our endea- 
vours. Under the divine influence, they will cer- 
tainly be attended with success. They will pro- 
mote our happiness infallibly. The choice of our 
conduct must be voluntary, and the perseverance 
and labour must be directed by the purest mo- 
tives, and the most steady, regular, and careful 
diligence, just as if we depended on ourselves ; 
while, at the same time, they are animated and 
supported by humble confidence in heavenly 

' John, xiv. 15; 1 John, ii. 3, 5, &c. ; Jam. i. 27; 1 Cor. 
vi. 9, 10 ; Eph. v. o, 6. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



201 



favour. No remissness is allowed on our part, in 
consequence of God's favour. We are to work out 
our salvation with the utmost solicitude, knowing 
that he who gives us his grace, may, upon failure of 
our best endeavours, withdraw it, and leave us in a 
state of woeful desertion. Libertinism can avail 
itself of no such doctrines as these, which, in the 
very first instance, most emphatically recommend 
purity of heart, the fountain of all external action. 

It is remarkable of the gospel, that it teaches 
obedience to human law, and every moral virtue, 
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 



SECTION L. 

Unbelievers not to he addressed merely with subtle 
Reasoning, which they always oppose in its own 
way, not to be ridiculed, not to be treated ivith seve- 
rity, but to be tenderly and affectionately exhorted 
to prepare their hearts for the reception of the 
inward Witness, and to relume the Light of Life, 
which they have extinguished, or rendered faint, 
through Pride, Vice, or total Neglect. 

Facts have evinced that mere human disputation 
has little effect in converting the infidel. The in- 
fidel has often been remarkable for sagacity, and 
richly furnished with all human learning, though 
little acquainted with divine knowledge. I never 



202 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



knew any of them retract their errors, after the 
publication of the most ingenious and laborious 
books which claimed the honour of completely re- 
futing them. It is time to try another method, 
since none can be more unsuccessful than that 
which has been hitherto used. It is time to trust 
less in human means, and rely on the power of 
God, which will manifest itself in the hearts of all 
men who persevere with earnestness in seeking 
divine illumination. 

I deem it extremely imprudent and indecent to 
ridicule the unbeliever. It is setting him an ex- 
ample, which he may follow to the great injury of 
all that is serious and truly valuable both in morals 
and religion. It argues a levity and disregard for 
his happiness, very unbecoming any man who 
knows the value of a human soul, or who professes 
a solicitude to save it alive. Though it cause no 
conversion, it will produce retaliation. 

Still more unchristian is it to treat him with se- 
verity. I have read books professing to recommend 
the benign religion of Christ, and to refute all ob- 
jections to it, yet written in the very gall of bitter- 
ness, displaying a pride and malignity of heart 
which may justly prompt the unbeliever to say, 
<f If your religion, of which you profess to be a be- 
liever, and which you describe as teaching charity 
or benevolence in its fullest extent, can produce no 
better a specimen than your own temper and dis- 
position, let me preserve my good-nature, and you 
may keep your Christianity, with all the advantages 
you boast that it contains, in your own exclusive 
possession." 

The late bishop Warburton treated infidels with 
a haughty asperity scarcely proper to be shown to 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



203 



thieves and murderers, or any, the most abandoned, 
members of society. Many have doubted, from the 
tenour of his writings, whether he was a believer ; 
or whether he only thought it sufficient, for the sake 
of rising in the church, to support religion by argu- 
ment as a state engine. Certain it is, that the 
spirit which he shows towards his opponents 1 is not 
the Spirit of grace; that spirit which is loving, 
gentle, and easy to be entreated. His spirit is sin- 
gularly proud and acrimonious; and so has been 
the spirit of many of his predecessors and succes- 
sors. 

How amiable and gentle, on comparison, the 
language and sentiments of Voltaire and Rousseau 1 
Those men would have loved Christianity, and pro- 
bably believed it, if it had not been distorted and 
disfigured by the malignant passions of angry, po- 
lemical defenders of it, who showed their love of 
Christ, by hating their brother. 

Religion is beautiful. Full of grace are her lips. 
She shall speak for herself to the hearts of unbe- 
lievers, and the world : 

" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
heavy laden, and I will refresh you. I call you, 
not for the sake of promoting any worldly interest, 
not for political purposes, not for an ecclesiastical 

1 The following is a specimen of the temper with which 
bishop Warburton wrote his book on the Doctrine of Grace. 
In the fifth chapter, where he is speaking of the office and opera- 
tions of the Holy Spirit, he has the following note on Mr. 
William Law, who, if mistaken, is allowed to have been a sincere 
Christian, and a very good as well as ingenious man. 

c£ This poor man," (says the great prelate,) " whether misled 
by his fanaticism or his spleen, has here fallen into a trap which 
his folly laid for his malice." 

There is then no malice in this observation, no pride, no re- 
venge ! 



204 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



party, not to maintain the riches or grandeur of 
any establishment*, but that I may make you happy; 
that I may dispel the clouds of trouble and doubt 
which darken your paths, and show you the sun- 
shine of heaven. Mine is a spirit of love. I am a 
lover of men. I seek to do you good. I bring the 
glad tidings of the gospel ; that is, I disclose to you 
that God Almighty, in pity to suffering and erring 
mortals, sends a comforter, the Holy Ghost, de- 
scending like a dove, all peaceable, gentle, lovely- 
I fill you with hope ; and hope is a cheerful pas- 
sion. It will tranquillize your agitated bosoms, 
and lead you rejoicing on your way to the silent 
grave, whither you must go, whether you make 
your journey to it gay and pleasant, as you may, 
under my guidance, or dismally dark, as it will 
ever be when I withdraw my lustre." 

Would not such a mode of address be more 
likely to conciliate men who oppose themselves 
while they reject Christianity, than all the angry, 
taunting language which has been used, not only 
against professed infidels, but against believers who 
differed a little, in matters of indifference. South, 
Bentley,Warburton, and some able writers in recent 
times, have shown, in their zealous defences, the 
pride of pedantry, the fierceness of barbarians, the 
subtlety of politicians, but quite forgot the gentle- 
ness which characterizes the wisdom from heaven, 
and which alone can win souls by the charms of 
soft persuasion, assisted by the holy spirit of love. 

It is said of Dr. Johnson, that he used to declare, 
he loved a good hater. Many polemical divines 
have shown themselves capable of this passion of 
hatred in its highest perfection. But hatred begets 
hatred ; and Dr. Johnson's declaration is among 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



205 



those inconsistencies in his life, which prove a 
great man still but a man. I am sorry that this 
saying should be recorded of him ; for Dr. Johnson 
professed himself a zealous Christian, and Christ 
taught us to love even an enemy. According to 
the Christian rule, an enemy, instead of being 
hated, is to be melted to love and kindness by good 
usage. 

The odium theologicum, displayed in controversy, 
is, in my opinion, the greatest opprobrium theologi- 
cum. Warburtonian insolence and ill-nature have 
done more injury to the church, and to the cause 
of Christianity, than any of the writers whom they 
were intended to gall and mortify. 



SECTION LI. 

Of the inadequate idea entertained by many respect- 
able persons concerning Christianity ; with a sug- 
gestion on the expediency of their considering the 
true nature of Christian Philosophy. 

To abstain from gross, enormous, open, and scan- 
dalous vices, to comply with the outward cere- 
monies of the Church, and to reciprocate the usual 
and formal civilities of life, constitutes, in the 
opinion of multitudes, not only a very respectable 
member of society, but a very good Christian. 
Concerning the doctrines of Christianity, such 



206 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



persons give themselves little concern, but plume 
themselves on decently practising the duties; by 
which they understand nothing more than a very 
imperfect kind of heathen morality, and the avoid- 
ance of such conduct as might expose them to the 
animadversion of law, or the loss of reputation. 
The duties of Christianity thus limited, they think 
easily discernible, without study or reading, by 
common observation and common sense. Doing 
as others do, as far as the decorum of established 
manners allows and prescribes, is the grand rule. 
Such persons pass through life with great credit, 
paying their way, and making themselves agreeable 
in company, and are seldom mentioned but with 
the praise of very good sort of people. 

Exactly such sort of people they might have 
been if Christianity had never existed. They 
hold no opinion, they adopt no practice peculiar 
to Christianity. The gospel, which they profess 
to embrace, is a leaden rule, an accommodating 
guide, an humble companion, that must obsequi- 
ously stand on one side, whenever it is in the way 
of a fashionable practice. Gaming, duelling, and 
many modes of gratification inconsistent both with 
the letter and spirit of the gospel, seem to 
receive no check from this convenient species of 
Christianity. 

Any thoughts which may occasionally intrude 
of a very serious kind, are laughed away by the 
surrounding circle, as vapours, fancies, the effects 
of morbid melancholy, or of nervous indisposition. 
Company, public places, public diversions, are 
immediately proposed as a sovereign remedy ; and 
indeed they certainly are so far a remedy, that 
they banish serious thoughts, but they also banish 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



207 



that happy disposition (for happiness is serious) 
which might have caused the visitation from on high, 
and obtained for the weary, sick heart, the sweetly- 
refreshing cordial of divine grace. 

Attendance at polite places of public worship 
seems to constitute the piety of such persons; 
and public subscription to fashionable or political 
contributions shows their charity. It seems fair 
to infer, that their piety and charity are thus cir- 
cumscribed, because their actions, on other occa- 
sions and at other places, seem inconsistent with 
piety or charity. Sunday is often employed by 
them in a manner forbidden both by divine and 
human laws ; and the poor at the next door to 
their mansions, in some retired village, are often 
unrelieved, while strangers at a watering-place, 
(where the benefactors names are handed about,) 
and advertised objects, receive a very ample share 
of their public bounty. 

All this while they consider themselves as good 
Christians. God only knows the heart ; but if 
they are mistaken, as is probable, their mistake is 
a very unhappy one. They are depriving them- 
selves of the benefit of Christianity. 

But their mistake probably arises from igno- 
rance. They are indeed very far from ignorant of 
many things. Their ignorance is chiefly religious 
ignorance ; and it is caused by habitual inatten- 
tion to the doctrines of Christianity. It is indeed 
rather difficult to avoid such ignorance, since their 
time is occupied in what religion calls vanity, and 
the few hours devoted to reading are chiefly em- 
ployed in novels, where a truly Christian character 
would be deemed a perfect solecism. 

I humbly hope that the contemplation of Chris- 



208 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



tian Philosophy, thus imperfectly represented in 
this little volume, may lead them to study it in the 
great authors whom I have cited ; and I trust 
they will thence find a great increase in their com- 
forts, and that their happiness will be less exposed 
to concussion, when founded on the solid basis of 
divine favour. 



SECTION LII. 

On Indifference and Insensibility to Religion, arising 
from hardness of heart. No progress can be made 
in Christian philosophy in such a state, as it is a 
state incompatible with the Divine Influence. 

The fine feelings with which nature formed the 
heart of man in his primeval state, and with which 
perhaps every infant is born, are too often ren- 
dered obtuse by indiscriminate commerce with 
the world; and the heart of flesh, once tremblingly 
alive to the softest touch of sympathy, is meta- 
morphosed to a heart of stone. Deplorable change ! 
for what is man when he ceases to feel ? a reason- 
ing vegetable, with this painful pre-eminence over 
the nettles and briars, that he has the power of 
being actively mischievous in the present state, 
and capable, when the sensibility shall be restored 
in another, of final and unsuflerable woe. To lapse 
into this condition, to become past feeling, to have 
a seared conscience, is, w ithout doubt, the heaviest 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



209 



calamity of which human rMure is susceptible. 
Perhaps he who is reduced to it is not conscious of 
it at the time ; a circumstance which, contrary to 
what might be expected, ultimately aggravates his 
misfortune. It is characteristic of this state, that 
while it is alive to the vanities and miseries of the 
world, it is dead to God and all the delicate sen- 
sations of unaffected virtue. 

This condition of religious insensibility is not 
to be accounted for by causes merely physical or 
philosophical. The middle-aged fall into it as 
well as the old, the healthy as well as the diseased, 
men of the brightest talents no less than the dull 
and the stupid. But Christian philosophy traces 
its origin, and pronounces it the consequence of 
an unregenerate state, or the total defect of divine 
grace. He who lives in it has forsaken his God, 
the guide of his youth ; and his God has forsaken 
him, and given him up to a reprobate mind, a 
heart of stone, at once cold and impenetrable. 
' Whom he will, he hardeneth.' 1 

Happily he, who in his displeasure inflicted the 
misfortune, can remove it. ' A new heart (says 
God) will I give you, a new spirit will I put into 
you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of 
your flesh ; and I will give you a heart of flesh ; 
and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you 
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
ments and do them.' 2 

From this declaration mankind may conclude, 
(as many ever have been and still are experimen- 
tally convinced,) that God influences the human 
bosom by his actual interposition, and the super- 
natural energy of his Holy Spirit. Christ himself 
1 Rom. ix. 18. 2 Ezekiel, xxxvi. 26, 27. 

P 



210 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



says, ' Lo ! I am with you, even unto the end of 
the world.' But how is he with us but by the 
Holy Ghost, whose ordinary operations are now 
as energetic as ever on the bosom of the true be- 
liever. Except a man be born again of this Spirit, 
we read in express language, ' he cannot see 
the kingdom of God.' No words can be more 
explicit. They mean regeneration by grace, or 
what else do they mean ? They support, as on a 
rock, the doctrine of divine agency ; and without 
this doctrine, all teaching and preaching is ' as 
salt that has lost its savour.' This doctrine 
forms the solid basis of Christian philosophy. All 
morality, every precept and principle which leads 
to happiness present or future, stand upon it im- 
movably. Other buildings are of hay and stubble ; 
this is of gold and marble. 

And with respect to the charge of blamable 
enthusiasm, which is constantly brought, and can- 
not be too frequently repelled, let us hear bishop 
Lavington, so great an enemy to Methodism, that 
he wrote the severest book which ever appeared in 
opposition to it. But thus he speaks to his clergy, 
on a solemn occasion, when he was instructing 
them how to execute their pastoral office. 

" My brethren," (says he,) " I beg you will rise 
up with me against moral preaching. We have 
long been attempting the reformation of the nation 
by discourses of this kind. With what success ? 
None at all. On the contrary, we have dexterously 
preached the people into downright infidelity. 
We must change our voice. We must preach 
Christ and him crucified. Nothing but the gospel 
is, nothing will be found to be the power of God 
unto salvation, besides. Let me, therefore, again 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



211 



and again request, may I not add, let me charge 
you, to preach Jesus, and salvation through his 
name. Preach the Lord who bought us ; preach 
redemption through his blood ; preach the saying 
of the great High Priest ; he who believetb shall 
be saved ; preach repentance towards God, and 
faith in our Lord„Jesus Christ/' 

Thus bishop Lavington ; a man who abhorred 
fanaticism. Who could ever suspect archbishop 
Seeker, 1 bishop Hurd, bishop Home, bishop 
Horsley, of irrational enthusiasm ? Yet, in their 
discourses and charges, they all urge their clergy, 
not to preach mere moral doctrines, the philoso- 
phy of the heathens, but the gospel ; that is, the 
great doctrines of redemption, atonement, satisfac- 
tion by Christ, and the necessity and importance of 
divine grace. If, by the coming of Christ, God re- 
commended only a moral system, merely repub- 
lished the religion of nature, this would in fact 
have been no Revelation. Indeed, a merely moral 
Christianity is deism. 

When Christianity is the national religion, and 
great revenues are allotted to its professional teach- 
ers, many may choose to join the crowd of Chris- 
tians for the loaves and fishes ; many may call 
themselves Christians who have nothing of Chris- 
tianity but the name, and in their hearts despise 

1 u The truth, I fear, is," (says archbishop Seeker,) " that 
many, if not most of us, have dwelt too little on these doc- 
trines" (the doctrines of grace and other peculiar doctrines of 
Christianity) " in our sermons — by no means, in general, from 
disbelieving or slighting them." 

Again, says the same discerning primate, u We have, in fact, 
lost many of our people to sectaries, by not preaching in a man- 
ner sufficiently evangelical.' — Seeker's Charge. 

There never was a more discreet, rational, or judicious arch- 
bishop than Seeker. He could not favour fanaticism. 

P 2 



212 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



even the name ; but let all serious and sensible 
men remember, that 'if the gospel is hid, it is hid 
to them that are lost, whose eyes the god of this 
world hath blinded let them in time beware, lest 
that come upon them which is spoken by the pro- 
phet : 'Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and 
perish ; for I work a work in your days, a work 
which you will in no wise understand, though a 
man declare it unto you.' 1 



SECTION LIII. 

A Self-Examination, recommended respecting 
re Jig ions In sensi b ility . 

Let every reader take a view of the present state of 
his heart. Let us all look inwardly, and consider 
our real state, without self-flattery and deceit, un- 
interrupted either by business or pleasure. 

Does my heart require renovation ? Is it piously 
inclined to God, and kindly to my fellow-creature P 
Am I convinced of my own ignorance, weakness, 
and unworthiness ? Have I inquired into the 
health of my soul, the state of my temper and dis- 
position, witji half the solicitude with which I take 
care to feed, to cure, to adorn my body ? If not, I 
may call myself a Christian, and join the congre- 



Acts, xiii. 40, 41. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



213 



gation of Christians, but I am probably still a 
heathen, still unregenerate. I may be in the gall 
of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity. My heart 
may be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, 
and as I value my happiness in this short state of 
existence, or my immortal soul, I must seek the di- 
vine grace, to give me a feeling sense of my wants 
and wretchedness, and of God's power to illuminate 
and comfort me by his Holy Spirit. 

But supposing that I am feelingly convinced of 
sin and misery, and sincerely wish to be delivered 
from it, do I seek deliverance by the gospel means, 
that is, through Jesus Christ ; or do I depend upon 
my own reason, a few moral acts and habits ob- 
served for the sake of decency, for my own health, 
wealth, and that reputation in the world which is 
necessary to the advancement of my interest ? If 
so, my morality is worldly wisdom, and my religion 
has no claim to Christianity. I am unregenerate, 
unconverted, unrenewed, notwithstanding my bap- 
tism and my professions ; and continuing as I do 
by choice a heathen, in the midst of the light of 
Christianity, which at the same time I solemnly 
profess, I must finally perish, after an unsatisfactory 
life. 

Is my Christianity a cold, philosophical assent 
to a few propositions in the gospel, evident before 
the gospel was divulged, and such as I select from 
others of the same authority in the same book, 
which I do not so well approve ? Then is my re- 
ligion nominal only. I profess to believe, as others 
appear to do, what I never in my life fully consi- 
dered. I am content to live without God in the 
world, so long as my corn and my wine increase, 
and I can say to my soul, e Soul, thou hast much 



214 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, 
drink, and be merry.' 1 For the sake of living at 
peace, and for the sake of credit, which is intimately 
connected with my interest, I conform to all out- 
ward ceremonies and all moral decencies ; but my 
heart has not yet been truly turned to God. I 
know no other God than my own gain and plea- 
sure ; and as to heaven, this earth, so long as I se- 
cure to myself a large share of it and its good 
things, is my paradise. I say to myself, " It is 
good for me to be here; here will I build my taber- 
nacle ; for it is a pleasant place, and I have a delight 
therein. But what shall I say when this world is 
receding from me, when my senses decay, and 
death evidently approaches ? Then shall I have 
no comfort, unless God should soften my heart by 
the effusion of his Spirit. But lest my obduracy 
should grow impenetrable by time, I will imme- 
diately implore the divine favour, in co-operation 
with my own endeavours, to restore my religious 
sensibility. I will henceforth cultivate the love of 
God." 

But to love God only, is not enough. Do I love 
my fellow-creature ? or, as it is expressed in Scrip- 
ture, ' my neighbour ?' The apostle says, f Be- 
loved, let us love one another, for love is of God, 
and every one that loveth is born of God, and know- 
eth God ; he that loveth not, knoweth not God, 
and therefore cannot be born of him, for God is 
love.' 2 How, then, is my heart affected towards 
my fellow-creatures ? Are my friendships merely 
combinations for the sake of interest and pleasure ? 
Is there any human being in the world whom I 



1 Luke, xii. 20. 



2 1 John, iv. 7, 8. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



215 



wish to be miserable, and would render so if I had 
him in my power ? Have I no sympathetic feelings 
for men as men ? If I cannot recollect acts of dis- 
interested benevolence, I may rest assured that it is 
the same hardness of heart which renders me in- 
sensible to Gocl, that has also made me a stranger 
to the social affections. I have need, therefore, to 
pray that God would thaw my heart by the sun- 
shine of his grace. He who can turn a heart of 
stone into a heart of flesh, will cause me to feel, by 
his Spirit's influence, for those who share with me 
the evils incident to humanity. 

By such questions as the above — and many such 
every man may propose to himself — the state of the 
heart may be ascertained much better than by 
signing articles or repeating a symbol. 

God certainly made the heart of man tender. 
Jesus himself wept, and thus for ever hallowed the 
briny fountain. Tears are appropriated to man, as 
one of the most honourable distinctions which se- 
parate him from the brute creation. When man 
has dried up the sacred source by acquired insensi- 
bility, he has degraded his nature, and must have 
recourse to God to make him a new creature, to re- 
generate and render him alive to the sentiments of 
divine love, and the soft touches of humane sym- 
pathy. God's Spirit can break the rock of flint 
asunder, and cause the waters to gush from it in 
abundance. 

And can I venture to hope that he will do so, 
that he will melt my obduracy ? Yes, certainly, 
for Jesus Christ has promised the influence of his 
Spirit to renew the heart, and accomplish the great 
work of regeneration. Without this I cannot be 
happy. I may be rich, great, learned, but I cannot 



218 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



application bestowed on things, which, at best, are 
but toys, if bestowed on religion, would make it 
your chief delight, the guardian of youth, the 
comfort of the aged and afflicted. You would no 
longer consider its duties and employments as 
heavy and dull. You would feel, not only the 
offices of charity, but devotion, sweet to your soul. 
The gracious words of gospel truth, of prayer, and 
thanksgiving, would " come o'er thine ear," as the 
poet says, 

" like the sweet south, 

That breathes upon a bank of violets." 

It is justly said, that in devotional offices, pas- 
sion becomes reason, and transport, temper. 
Heaven must disdain the cold prayer, the luke- 
warm praise of insensibility and indifference. 
The incense must blaze on the altar, before the 
sweet odours can ascend to the skies. Cold de- 
votion is indevout. Heartless thanksgiving is an 
insult. What ! shall we warm and be anxious, 
and sanguine, in worldly pursuits, in politics and 
party, and dull and languid as followers of Christ, 
in showing our zeal in the cause of the great cap- 
tain of our salvation, which is the cause of all 
mankind, a cause in which heaven and earth are 
interested ? Be it the great endeavour of all who 
would obtain wisdom from above, to conciliate, 
by fervent prayer, the grace of God, which will 
remove all hardness of heart, the cause of that 
coldness and insensibility, which is too often 
most unjustly honoured with the name of modera- 
tion. 1 

1 " Because thou art luke-warm, I will vomit thee out of my 
mouth "'—ef.iscrai — one of the strongest expressions of contempt 
and indignation in the holy scriptures. Rev. iii. 16. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY, 219 



SECTION LV. 

On Spiritual Slumber, as described in the Scriptures, 
and the necessity of being awakened. 

The religious world is divided into many sects ; 
but perhaps the most numerous party consists of 
nominal Christians, who appear to adopt no reli- 
gious opinions at all ; who, indeed, neither deny 
the truth of any religion, nor controvert its doc- 
trines ; but who give themselves up to the plea- 
sures and business of the world, or to mere thought- 
lessness and inactivity, and leave religion to its 
professed ministers, to their neighbours, to the 
weak, the sick, and the superannuated. In the 
words of Isaiah, ' They hear, but understand not ; 
and see, indeed, but perceive not; the heart of this 
people is fat, their ears heavy, and their eyes shut.' 
With respect to their spiritual state, they may be 
said to have fallen into a deep sleep ; and in the 
midst of their bodily activity, their souls are sunk 
in slumber. To these the animating words of the 
apostle are addressed : ' Awake, thou that sleepest, 
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee 
light.' 

Is it possible that men can sleep so soundly, in 
this uncertain state, while the house they inhabit 
may be said to be in flames, or while they lie on 
the very brink of a steep cliff, from which, if they 
fall, they fall to rise no more ? Alas ! it is not 
only possible, but common ; though it is a sleep, 



220 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

in which, whosoever indulges, may possibly sleep 
on till he wake no more. It may be a fatal sleep ; 
the sleep of death ; the stupor of a lethargy ; the 
numbness of a spiritual palsy ; the insensibility of 
mortification. 

They who fall into this deep sleep, like those 
who indulge the sleep of nature, commonly lie in 
darkness; the darkness of voluntary ignorance. 
Indolence smooths their pillow, and silences their 
pavilion. Their eyes are closed by prejudice, and 
the curtains drawn around them by pride and 
presumption. The opiates of vanity, of worldly 
ease and pleasure, superinduce a kind of trance. 
Sealed are their eye-lids, but their sleep is not a 
quiet sleep ; it is not sweet and refreshing, like 
the sleep of virtue, the balmy repose of health, 
wearied, at the close of day, with the exertions of 
beneficence. 

It is a sleep interrupted by dreams. Shadowy, 
fantastic forms, of a thousand shades and hues, flit 
before their fancy. Ambition has her dreams, 
avarice her spectres, and pleasure her visions of 
ideal bliss, painted with a glow of colouring, which 
the pencil cannot emulate. 

Crowns and sceptres, purple robes, crimson 
banners, with titles of honour, and armorial bear- 
ings, pass, like a pageant, before the courtier, the 
statesman, the senator, the lawyer, the warrior. 
He fixes his eye upon them devoutly. He catches 
at them eagerly, as the glittering train moves on. 
They elude his grasp. He catches again. The 
air-drawn baubles vanish. Again he is disap- 
pointed. Still he perseveres ; and with aching 
heart, and trembling knees, and palsied hand, he 
reaches, at last, with great difficulty, a coronet, a 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



221 



star, a ribband, and places it on his shaking head, 
or his throbbing bosom ; then, stumbling on the 
dark mountains, down he falls, stripped of all his 
blushing honours and his gorgeous robes. Clad 
in a shrowd, and with a few vain words engraved 
on his coffin-plate, he is thrust, lest he should be- 
come noisome, into a mouldy vault, to rot and be 
forgotten here, where alone he sought distinction ; 
and to appear all shivering and naked, before 
Christ, his judge ; of whom he never once thought 
seriously, during the deep sleep and the long day- 
dreams of a vain, worldly, irreligious life. 

Behold another dreamer, with a hoary head, 
lying down to rest, not on soft pillows, but on bags 
of gold. It is the miser : he dreams that the pale 
spectre of haggard poverty is pursuing hard after 
him ; a cold sweat bedews his emaciated cheeks, 
and his teeth shake ; but he is cheered again by 
dreaming of bargains, usurious contracts, of join- 
ing house to house, and laying field to field ; of 
saving all he gains, of taking advantage of the 
wants of one, and the ignorance of another, to fill 
his enormous chest. And lo ! it is now full. Is 
he happy ? and does he use it ? Does he enjoy 
it, for the purposes it was designed ? Does he 
think of God, the giver of all good things ? Does 
he distribute it to the poor ? No ; his joy consists 
in telling it o'er and o'er, weighing it with shaking 
hands, and viewing it with a dim spectacled eye, 
which can scarcely distinguish a counterfeit from 
a true coin. At some future period, when he shall 
have completed a certain sum, he dreams that he 
shall build, plant, do good, and be whatever a man 
ought to be. But the sleep of death comes on be- 
fore the dream of life is over, and he is gone. And 



222 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



lo ! bis heir thrusts him into the ground, with the 
face of affected grief, that can hardly hide his 
real joy. Down sinks the dreaming dotard, into 
the bosom of that earth to which his mind was 
prone ; his very name rots with his emaciated 
body; and his spirit, all poor, naked, and beg- 
garly, moans and bewails that he laid up no trea- 
sure in heaven ; that, in his earthly visions, he 
never thought of his soul ; never felt a desire for 
the riches of grace. 

And now behold his heir. Possessed of wealth 
which he never knew the toil of earning, he be- 
comes a man of pleasure ; and he also dreameth 
a dream. The banquet is prepared. The wine 
giveth its colour in the cup. The gaming-table 
is before him. Noise and riot drive away thought 
and care. The singing men and the singing wo- 
men enter. Money is lavished on horses, dogs, 
sharpers, buffoons; and no debts regarded but 
those of false honour. His heart dances to the 
melody of the harp and the vial ; he pampers every 
bodily sense, till pleasure itself is converted into 
pain or insensibility. He dreams on, and soon 
sees phantoms of pleasure, the ghosts of departed 
joys, dancing, in mockery, before his eyes. His 
powers of perception decay, his youth and health 
are departed, and he droops like a hyacinth, 
broken down by a hasty shower, before it has ex- 
panded its beauty. Down he sinks to the earth, 
into an untimely grave, and mourns, as he retires 
from the shadowy scene, that a greediness of plea- 
sure surfeited his senses, and robbed him, not 
only of longer life, but of real enjoyment during 
its continuance. What preparation did he make 
to relish the pleasures which flow at God's right 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



223 



hand; the pleasures of reason, the sweets of be- 
nevolence, all-pure, all-spiritual, as exquisite in 
the enjoyment, as exalted and durable in their na- 
ture ? Alas ! none. He had neither time nor 
inclination. His soul slept, while his body waked 
with a fever; the fine sensibilities of the spiritual 
nature were enveloped in slumber, while his bo- 
dily senses were unnaturally jaded, and prema- 
turely worn out by constant vigilance and activity. 
He drank the cup of pleasure to the dregs, and 
the dregs were to his palate wormwood, and to his 
vitals poison. 

Similar to such slumbers and such dreams are 
the slumbers and the dreams of many whom we 
meet walking in their sleep, in the streets of the 
city ; whom we behold all lively and active in the 
gaily-illuminated theatres of pleasure, in the 
crowded emporiums of commerce, in the courts of 
princes, in the senate-house, in the forum, and at 
the tribunal. Deeply do they drink the draughts 
of worldly vanity, which, like doses of opium, lay 
them indeed asleep ; but at the same time fill 
them with self-conceit and pride, and disturb them 
with dreams, wild as the scenes of fairy land. It 
is not a sweet sleep ; it is the sleep of disease, and 
resembles what the physicians call the coma vigil, 
a walking slumber, a dangerous symptom. Then 
let no man indulge the first tendencies to the 
sleep of the soul ; but rather shake off dull sloth, 
and hear the voice which calls him like the cheer- 
ful herald of the morning: ' Awake, thou that 
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
give thee light.' Cheerful, pleasant, merciful 
warning ! But many, it is feared, are too fast 
asleep to hear it. They are, in their torpid state, 



224 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



like the swallows in the winter ; but even the 
swallows, when the spring calls them forth, rise 
from their temporary death in unknown regions, 
to soar with joy and triumph in the fields of aether. 
The primroses and violets sleep on their banks 
for many months ; but when the bland voice of 
the zephyrs whispers tc arise," you see them spring 
forth, lift up their heads, and drink the sun-beams, 
and the dew of heaven. And shall the cold ear of 
man be deaf to the still small voice of conscience, 
and shall his eyes be impenetrable to the beams 
of grace ? Many seem to have little in their na- 
ture of a religious disposition ; yet let us not 
conclude that any of the sons of Adam, any of 
the redeemed of Christ, are destitute of that liv- 
ing principle, which is to be fostered and che- 
rished even to immortal life. There is in every 
man a spark, perhaps a latent spark, which only 
requires to be gently blown by the aspiration of 
the Holy Ghost, to become a clear light, and af- 
ford a vital warmth, to guide to all evangelical 
truth, and to invigorate the mind with faith and 
hope. There is in every man a seed of virtue, 
goodness, and piety, which only requires the di- 
vine grace to shine upon it, in order to become a 
flourishing plant, exuberant in its fine foliage, 
beautiful in its blossom, abundant in its delicious 
fruit, striking root deeply in the heart, reaching 
the heavens with its branches, and vegetating in 
beautiful verdure to all eternity. 

To excite this spark, to cherish this little tender 
seed of grace, this, O sons of men, is the work, this 
the labour. Arise, therefore, and be doing, and 
the Lord be with you. 

Let us, then, take an impartial view of our own 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



225 



state, and examine whether many of us are not in 
the state of spiritual sleeping and dreaming al- 
ready described. How passes our life ? We 
eat, we drink, we sleep. To-morrow and to-mor- 
row the same dull repetition : we eat, we drink, we 
sleep. So also do the poor animals around us, 
whom we look down upon as our inferiors. How 
are we employed in the intervals of this vegetative 
life ? We buy, we sell, we dress, we trifle, we visit, 
we tell or hear the tale of the day, often a trifling, 
often a false, sometimes a malevolent one ; but in 
all this, have little other design than to pass away 
the time without reflection ; to forget ourselves ; to 
hide the prospect before us — death, judgment, hea- 
ven, and hell ! 

How stands the real state of that religion which 
we profess ? We learned our catechism in our 
infancy ; we read the Bible at school ; we go to 
church like others ; we hear and repeat our prayers ; 
but have we, indeed, considered our religion as our 
principal concern ? Christianity is either true or 
not true. If we believe it true, it must be our 
chief concern ; if not true, then why mock we 
both God and man by our hypocrisy ? But we 
profess to believe it. Have we any secret exer- 
cises of the soul in converse and communion with 
God ? Do we spend any time with our own 
hearts ? Have we no sweet intercourse with hea- 
ven in solitude ? no fervour of piety, no inward 
religion, no spiritual sensibility, no pious ardour, 
no secret store of comfort unknown to the world, 
and which the world cannot reach, locked up as 
a precious jewel, in the casket of the heart ? 
If we have not, we are assuredly in that state 
which requires us to listen to that animating call, 



226 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



f Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the 
dead;' for dead we are to God; dead to every 
thing but that vanity which ever terminates in 
vexation ; dead to all those remains of excellence, 
which have preserved, amidst the ruins of human 
nature, some faint vestige of its original grandeur 
and grace. 

Take away the spiritual life, and you level a 
man with the brutes. He becomes immediately 
what the philosophers of old called him, an animal 
with two legs, and without feathers. How are 
the mighty fallen! The wings of the eagle are 
clipped. He no longer eyes the golden sun, but 
grovels, like a reptile, on the earth. You not 
only level him with the brutes. You make him 
more miserable than they ; for he is sorely sensi- 
ble of his evils, which they are not: he is sensi- 
ble of his forlorn condition, sensible of the short- 
ness and possible evils of life, suffers imaginary 
as well as real woe, and sees the gloomy prospect 
before him — the grave opening to swallow him 
up, and the possibility of something terrible be- 
yond it. If we are but animals, then are we of 
all animals most miserable ! 

Since a religious lethargy is thus degrading to 
our nature, thus productive of misery, let us res- 
cue ourselves from it to-day, while it is called to- 
day ; and let no man say with the sluggard, ' a 
little more sleep and a little more slumber, a 
little more folding of the hands to sleep.' Life 
ebbs apace. The day is far spent to many of 
us. The night is at hand, when the sad licence 
may be allowed to us in that severe permission, 
' Sleep on, now, and take your rest.' Your sun 
is set, to rise no more. Deaths scythed, trium- 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



227 



phal car, drives on rapidly, and mows down all 
that stand in the way. It is computed, by the 
ingenious in calculation, that, on the surface of 
the globe, more than fifty thousand mortals, men, 
women, and children, die every night. How soon 
may any one of us make an unit in the thousands 
that every hour go down into the pit, and are no 
more seen ! 

One of the best means of exciting ourselves, is a 
due preparation for the sacrament of the Lords 
Supper. Let us never fail to receive it at Christ- 
mas, Whitsuntide, and Easter. We shall thus ex- 
perience a resurrection from the sleep and death of 
indifference, to life and hope in Christ our Re- 
deemer. 

It is, indeed, an alarming symptom of the spiri- 
tual slumber, that many of us go on from month to 
month, and from year to year, without receiving 
the sacrament; without seeking that mysterious 
communion between God and our souls ; without 
feeling any need of it ; without desiring it ; with- 
out any hunger or thirst after it. If we were not 
wrapt in a deep sleep, or state of stupidity, we 
should long for it ; feel an appetite for the heavenly 
manna ; and come to the Lord's table, as to our 
daily meals, with eagerness and alacrity. 

What shall we think of those numerous persons 
who, from year to year, hear notice given of the 
sacrament to be administered, and pay it not the 
least attention ? who think it a matter which may 
concern any body but themselves P How many 
among the poorest of the poor never approached 
the altar; live and die, without having once re- 
ceived the sacrament, or sought any other means 
of grace ? Do they think the rich only are capable 

q 2 



228 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



of grace ; that the rich only have souls to save ; 
that our Lord, like the world, invites the rich only 
to his table ? Think, did I say ? Alas ! they think 
little on the subject. They are in a deep sleep ; lost 
in the night of ignorance. And it unfortunately 
happens, that if they are awakened at all, it is 
usually by the call of some enthusiast, who leads 
them from the dullness of indifference, to the burn- 
ing fever of fanatical devotion. Let them rather hear 
the evangelical call, and apply it to themselves with- 
out delay ; ' Awake, thou that sleepest :' and let them 
obey the friendly voice of him who came expressly 
to preach the gospel to the poor. Let them pre- 
pare themselves immediately to use the means of 
grace afforded them by the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper, and be thankful that at that table there are 
no invidious distinctions ; that the rich and poor 
meet together, prostrate on their knees before their 
Maker, partaking his bounty without partiality, 
and supplicating his mercy ; all equally poor and 
helpless, without his grace. 

There are, it seems probable, many others among 
us, who think themselves too young to be at all 
concerned with things] so serious as the sacra- 
ment. They go, indeed, to church, but never think 
of the holy communion, because they are too young 
to be serious. Permit me to ask, what is the pre- 
cise age at which the care of the soul is to com- 
mence ? When does the minority of the soul ter- 
minate ? If all are exempt who are young, and 
who think themselves young, how great will be the 
number ? Is not going to church, a serious thing ? 
They do not think themselves too young to go to 
church. May it not then be suspected, that as they 
think themselves unconcerned with the sacrament, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



229 



they may also think themselves unconcerned with 
the prayers and the discourses of the church ; and 
so may frequent the church, merely to display 
their external garb, to gaze and to be gazed at, to 
pass away an idle hour, and to comply with an es- 
tablished custom ? But if there be truth in Chris- 
tianity, they are trifling with the most important 
matters, in a most dangerous manner. They are 
acquiring a habit of considering the most sacred 
things with indifference. If they are too young to 
think of serious things, they certainly are not too 
young to die. Let them take a walk in the church- 
yard, and read the inscriptions on the tomb-stones. 
They will find, perhaps, as many young as old, 
among the victims of death ; and they must allow 
that youth is a more dangerous season, with respect 
to temptations, than any other ; and consequently, 
that it more particularly requires the succours of 
divine grace, to keep it from falling into sin and 
misery. And what so powerful a means of grace 
as the sacrament, after a due preparation ? 

No ; you are not too young to receive the divine 
blessing of grace. Only be sensible how much you 
want it; how wretched and how profligate you may 
become ; into what shameful and dreadful conduct 
you may fall, without it. Awake, therefore, from a 
sleep, which you cannot indulge without losing 
the morning of life ; the best season for every kind 
of work, spiritual as well as worldly. Begin well, 
in order to end well. Remember your Creator in 
the days of your youth, and he will not forget you 
in the days of your old age. Trust not in beauty. 
Trust not in strength. Beauty alone has no charms 
in the eye of heaven. Strength of body cannot 



230 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



prevail against the arm of offended Omnipotence, 
But beauty and strength, combined with virtue and 
piety — how lovely in the sight of men ! how pleas- 
ing to heaven ! — peculiarly pleasing, because, with 
every temptation to deviate, they voluntarily walk 
in the path of duty. 

There is another class yet, with whom I shall ex- 
postulate on the propriety of receiving the sacra- 
ment, which they are but too apt to neglect, appa- 
rently from an idea that they have no concern in 
it. They claim to be lookers-on, like spectators at 
a contest for life and death, without any interest in 
the event. I mean the numerous persons who fill 
the very useful and creditable station of servants 
and dependants, apprentices, and labourers for hire. 
These are apt to consider Sunday merely as a holi- 
day, or rather vacation from labour; a day in 
which they are to adorn themselves above their 
rank and station, and to sacrifice to the idols of 
false pleasure and expensive vanity. To think of 
the sacrament, or any other serious, affecting duty, 
on a day devoted to feasting, to jollity, and to wan- 
dering from house to house, would throw a gloom 
upon it, inconsistent with their schemes of enjoy- 
ment. Thoughtlessness and folly mark their con- 
duct on that day more than on any day in the 
week ; a day intended for their improvement in all 
virtue, honesty, and true wisdom. What! have 
they not souls, as well as their superiors in rank ? 
Is not our God their God ? Did not Christ die for 
them, as well as for their masters or employers ? 
Think of these things, and let not the sabbath-day, 
intended to promote your salvation, contribute, 
more than any other day, to your destruction. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



23 i 



Would you have it a day of pleasure ? In order 
to be such, let it be a day of innocence, a day of 
devotion, a day of rational, sober, discreet recrea- 
tion. 

Think not that religion will destroy your cheer- 
fulness. No ; it will promote it. Nothing gives 
so fine spirits as a clear conscience ; a bosom that 
feels the satisfaction of having discharged its duties 
to God and man. Then recreation and harmless 
pleasure are truly delightful. The sweet, in such 
circumstances, is without bitter ; the rose without a 
thorn; the honey without a sting. I have ever re- 
commended a cheerful religion ; because all reli- 
gion was certainly intended to make men happy ; 
and because gloominess, moroseness, and severity, 
which some persons require in religious duties, ori- 
ginate in weakness and error, and lead to folly, 
misery, and madness ; to all that is despicable or 
deplorable. As religion is the comfort, superstition 
and fanaticism are the bane and curse of human 
nature. Let us ever beware of excess, even in good 
and laudable pursuits ; for wisdom, and virtue, and 
happiness, all dwell with the golden mediocrity. 
Our exhortations to religion must indeed be warm 
and animated ; because the greater part of men 
err, rather in not reaching the desirable point, than 
by going beyond it. Yet cautions are also neces- 
sary, lest the willing, the zealous, the tender- 
hearted, should be urged, by their own ardour and 
by persuasion, to dangerous and unhappy ex- 
tremes. 

We have, I think, seen that the lively, anima- 
ting summons contained in the words, 'Awake, 
thou that sleepest,' is necessary to a great part 
of mankind, whose feelings are become callous, 



232 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and who (to repeat the emphatic words of Scrip- 
ture) have a heart of stone, instead of a heart of 
flesh ; necessary to many, who are, upon the 
whole, commendable for the general decency and 
propriety of their conduct in the world, as the 
world now is circumstanced. Even good kind of 
people, as they are called, and appear to men, are 
not sufficiently awakened to the calls of religious 
duty. They acquiesce in decencies, decorums, 
plausibilities, and the cold formal morality which 
may be practised on the most selfish motives, for 
worldly interest, for health, and for pleasure. 
They are not sufficiently sensible of the gospel 
truths, its great promises, and its dreadful denun- 
ciations of vengeance. They are virtuous hea- 
thens ; followers of the religion of nature, not that 
of Christ. The world approves them, and there- 
fore they approve themselves ; but can the world 
save them ? Can they save themselves ? No ; 
assuredly, if Christianity be not a fable, they must 
come to Christ for salvation. 

Persons who live in pleasure, that is, who make 
vain and sensual pleasure the sole business of 
their lives, are expressly said, in Scripture, to be 
dead while they live. They appear with smiles of 
perpetual gaiety; are often furnished with riches 
and honours ; but yet, in the Scripture sense, they 
are dead, if they are not alive to Christ. What 
avail their worldly ornaments ? The soul takes 
no real delight in them, because it naturally as- 
pires to higher things. So have I seen a nosegay 
of tulips, and pinks, and roses, put into the cold 
hand of a dead corpse, in a coffin, while the poor 
image of what once was man, could neither see 
the gaudy tints, nor smell the fragrance. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



233 



Shall we then not cry aloud, as we are com- 
manded, in the hope of awakening such unthink- 
ing persons to a sense of their own miserable con- 
dition, and the hopes afforded by the gospel ? 
Happy for ourselves and our fellow-creatures, if 
we could address a slumbering world with the 
trump of an archangel, uttering these enlivening 
words, e Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from 
the dead ; and Christ shall give thee light.' 

All persons whatever, however decent and mo- 
ral, that are in an unregenerated state, are repre- 
sented, in the strong metaphorical language of 
Scripture, as dead ; but happily it is a death from 
which we may raise ourselves by prayer ; and re- 
turning life will be cherished by heavenly influ- 
ence. 

For what says the friendly call ? ' Christ shall 
give thee light/ The sun of righteousness shall 
shine into the dark chambers of thy bosom, dis- 
pel the shades of ignorance, and disperse the 
phantoms of folly and vanity that sported in the 
sunless region. Think, poor darkling mortal, 
what is promised thee ! ' Christ shall give thee 
light.' As the sun in the morning breaks into 
thy chamber windows, and thou arisest from thy 
bed to feel his genial beams, and see all nature 
reassuming her beautiful colours; so the light of 
Christ, the light of grace, shall beam upon the 
soul, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, and 
thou shalt arise, and see the truth as it is in Jesus 
— see the beauty of holiness — the day-spring from 
on high — feel new vital warmth glowing in thy 
bosom ; and ( though you have lien among the 
pots, (in the mire and rubbish of worldly vanity,) 



234 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



yet shall you be as a dove which hath silver 
wings, and her feathers like gold.' 1 

After living the few days of our pilgrimage thus 
awake to God, awake to Christ, awake to the 
blessed influences of the Holy Ghost, your body, 
indeed, shall lie down, and pay that debt to na- 
ture which we must all pay ; yet your soul shall 
separate from it, (though not without a pang, yet) 
full of hope. Old age, or disease, or accidents 
will indeed bring your poor, frail, perishing flesh 
(for such is that of the strongest, the youngest, 
the most beautiful of us all) to the grave; your 
bones must lie down in the dust, from which they 
were taken, and the mourners shall go about the 
streets ; but let them not mourn without hope. 
Thy flesh shall rest in hope ; peaceful shalt thou 
sleep till the morning of the resurrection ; when the 
trumpet shall sound, and a voice shall be heard, 
sweeter than the sweetest music to the reviving 
ear: " Awake! awake! thou that sleepest, and, 
arise from the dead, and I will give thee light, 
life, glory, and immortality. Sleep no more ! 
Arise, put on thy beautiful garments ! — My glory 
is rising upon thee. Go — blessed spirit, — and in 
the vesture of a new and glorified body, shine 
among the spirits of just men made perfect — 
thyself a spirit, an immortal spirit. Sleep no 
more in the arms of death ; for death is subdued ; 
and as, like a faithful soldier, you watched with 
me in the militant state, you shall now join me in 
the triumphal. Sleep no more the sleep of death ; 
but rise, and exult in light ineffable !" 



• Psalm lxviii. 13. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



235 



SECTION LVI. 

On the Peace of God, that calm and composed State, 
which is produced by the Christian Philosophy, and 
is unknown to the Epicurean, Stoic, and all other 
Philosophy, ancient and modern. 

A general prospect of human life presents a 
scene of turbulence, of which the troubled ocean 
is an emblem. But there is a sweet, a peaceable, 
a tranquil state of self-possession, whether exter- 
nal circumstances are prosperous or adverse, which 
constitutes the most solid happiness of which hu- 
man nature is capable. This enjoyment, arising 
from moderate desires, a regulated imagination, 
lively hopes, and full confidence in the Deity, is 
that chief good, which philosophers have vainly 
sought in the schools, by the strongest efforts of 
unassisted reason. What then can point it out, if 
reason, improved by science to the highest degree, 
has not been able to find it ? The answer is ob- 
vious. The religion of Jesus Christ offers to its 
sincere votaries the peace of God, ' which passeth 
all understanding ; ' a kind and degree of happi- 
ness, which no language can clearly express ; which 
the understanding cannot adequately conceive, 
though the heart can feel it, with the most delight- 
ful experience. 

" The peace of God," (says the world,) " what 
is it ? " They know it not. Many have no con- 
ception of happiness, independent of external 



234 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



yet shall you be as a dove which hath silver 
wings, and her feathers like gold.' 1 

After living the few days of our pilgrimage thus 
awake to God, awake to Christ, awake to the 
blessed influences of the Holy Ghost, your body, 
indeed, shall lie down, and pay that debt to na- 
ture which we must all pay ; yet your soul shall 
separate from it, (though not without a pang, yet) 
full of hope. Old age, or disease, or accidents 
will indeed bring your poor, frail, perishing flesh 
(for such is that of the strongest, the youngest, 
the most beautiful of us all) to the grave; your 
bones must lie down in the dust, from which they 
were taken, and the mourners shall go about the 
streets ; but let them not mourn without hope. 
Thy flesh shall rest in hope ; peaceful shalt thou 
sleep till the morning of the resurrection ; when the 
trumpet shall sound, and a voice shall be heard, 
sweeter than the sweetest music to the reviving 
ear : " Awake ! awake ! thou that sleepest, and, 
arise from the dead, and I will give thee light, 
life, glory, and immortality. Sleep no more ! 
Arise, put on thy beautiful garments ! — My glory 
is rising upon thee. Go — blessed spirit, — and in 
the vesture of a new and glorified body, shine 
among the spirits of just men made perfect — 
thyself a spirit, an immortal spirit. Sleep no 
more in the arms of death ; for death is subdued ; 
and as, like a faithful soldier, you watched with 
me in the militant state, you shall now join me in 
the triumphal. Sleep no more the sleep of death ; 
but rise, and exult in light ineffable !" 



1 Psalm lxviii. 13. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



235 



SECTION LVI. 

On the Peace of God, that calm and composed State, 
which is produced by the Christian Philosophy, and 
is unknown to the Epicurean, Stoic, and all other 
Philosophy, ancient and modern. 

A general prospect of human life presents a 
scene of turbulence, of which the troubled ocean 
is an emblem. But there is a sweet, a peaceable, 
a tranquil state of self-possession, whether exter- 
nal circumstances are prosperous or adverse, which 
constitutes the most solid happiness of which hu- 
man nature is capable. This enjoyment, arising 
from moderate desires, a regulated imagination, 
lively hopes, and full confidence in the Deity, is 
that chief good, which philosophers have vainly 
sought in the schools, by the strongest efforts of 
unassisted reason. What then can point it out, if 
reason, improved by science to the highest degree, 
has not been able to find it ? The answer is ob- 
vious. The religion of Jesus Christ offers to its 
sincere votaries the peace of God, ' which passeth 
all understanding;' a kind and degree of happi- 
ness, which no language can clearly express ; which 
the understanding cannot adequately conceive, 
though the heart can feel it, with the most delight- 
ful experience. 

" The peace of God," (says the world,) " what 
is it ? " They know it not. Many have no con- 
ception of happiness, independent of external 



236 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



circumstances ; the toys of childhood protracted 
to age. They do not search for it in themselves, 
but in the eyes of the world. All their enjoy- 
ments must be violent, sensual, or, at least, osten- 
tatious. Admire them, talk of them, flatter them ; 
let the diurnal papers exhibit their names in capi- 
tals, and fashion crowd to their door ; let their 
equipages be splendid, and their mansions magni- 
ficent, their egress and regress recorded in the 
daily histories, or they sicken in the midst of 
health ; they pine in the midst of abundance ; the 
rose on their bosoms loses its fragrance ; the honey 
on their palates, its flavour. To be celebrated, 
even for folly, even for vice, is to them an enviable 
notoriety ; to be unnoticed in public circles, in the 
midst of every real blessing and solid comfort at 
home, infuses a bitter into all those sweets, which 
God in his bounty has lavished. 

But the felicity arising from the peace of God is 
neither the tumultuous ecstacy of the fanatic, nor 
the noisy merriment of the prodigal. It seek no 
plaudits, it makes no parade. It blazes not out 
like the sudden eruptions of a volcano ; but burns 
like the vestal fire, clear and constant, with a 
warmth that invigorates, without scorching ; with 
a light that illuminates, without dazzling the vi- 
sual faculty. 

Thus desirable, how is the peace of God to be 
obtained ? It is an important question. Let us 
enter on the research. If we enter on it with dis- 
positions truly humble and sincere, there is little 
doubt but we shall experience the truth of that 
comfortable declaration : " Ask, and it shall be 
" given ; seek, and ye shall find.' 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



237 



What said the wisdom of pagan antiquity, on 
the means of securing peace or tranquillity ? Much 
that was plausible ; little to the purpose. 

It was the advice of an ancient philosopher : 
u Subject yourself to reason, and you shall be re- 
duced to no other subjection." Experience, how- 
ever, has evinced that human reason, under a 
variety of circumstances, is too weak and fallible to 
be depended upon, for the full security of human 
happiness. What he vainly attributed to reason, 
may with justice be ascribed to religion. Religion, 
duly understood, and duly attended to, is capable 
of giving much of that freedom from passion and 
perturbation, to which philosophy in vain pre- 
tended. Not that I mean to arrogate too much, 
or claim more than truth and experience will al- 
low, even in favour of religion. While man pre- 
serves the nature which God gave him, he must 
continue subject to the transient impulse of those 
sensations from external objects which excite pas- 
sion, and disturb repose. 

All I contend for is, that religion, vital religion, 
the religion of the heart, is the most powerful 
auxiliary of reason, in waging war with the pas- 
sions, and promoting that sweet composure which 
constitutes the peace of God. Reason may point 
out what is right, but she wants authority in the 
minds of most men, to enforce obedience to her 
commands. Here religion steps in with majestic 
mien, and gives the sanction of a law to the dic- 
tates of discretion. 

I recommend, therefore, to him who wishes to 
obtain the peace of God, a diffidence in human 
reason, however strong by nature, and however 
improved by study. A confidence in it leads to 



238 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



that pride which God resisteth. But I mean this 
diffidence to be chiefly confined to the operations 
of reason in religious disquisitions. Things above 
reason are not to be rejected as contrary to reason, 
but to be received with a reverential awe, and a 
devout submission of the understanding to the 
God who gave it. 

He, then, who wishes to tranquillize his bosom, 
must have recourse to more powerful medicines 
than those of an empirical philosophy. Philo- 
sophy has been tried, from the earliest ages to the 
present hour, with little success. Philosophy is 
cold and inactive. She may influence and direct 
the understanding ; but she cannot warm the affec- 
tions with the love of God and virtue. Sentiment 
is necessary to impel the heart, to guide or regu- 
late even the virtuous passions ; and no sentiment 
is so efficacious for this purpose as the devotional. 
1 The word of God/ as the strong language of 
Scripture expresses it, ' r is quick and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even 
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and 
of the joints and marrow; and is a discerner of 
the thoughts and intents of the heart.' 

From the shallow streams of philosophy we 
must hasten to the living fountain of the Christian 
religion. It is the influence of God on the heart 
of man, the divine operation of the Holy Spirit 
on the spirit of human creatures, which alone can 
bestow a permanent tranquillity ; that peace of 
God which passeth all understanding ; that peace, 
which no human eloquence can clearly explain ; 
which no human sagacity can, by its own unas- 
sisted efforts, procure ; but which the devout heart 
of the believer feels with joy and gratitude. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



239 



This is the polar influence which can alone fix 
the tremulous needle, and point it directly to 
Heaven ; streaming into the heart of man an ema- 
nation of divinity. 

Let us then take a view of the fruits of the 
Spirit, as they are beautifully described by the 
apostle. ' The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness, temperance.' — These lovely virtues have 
a natural tendency to produce equanimity, self- 
possession, a serene, placid, delightful frame of 
mind, such as the sages of old conceived, indeed, 
but could not either procure or communicate. 
These make an earth a heaven, and render it evi- 
dent, beyond a doubt, that the true Christian, 
after all the boasts of the gay voluptuary, is the 
real man of pleasure. 

The worldly man of pleasure is, indeed, for the 
most part, a man of pleasure only in name. His 
pains, upon the whole, greatly outweigh his plea- 
sures ; or his insensibility, contracted by excess, 
leaves him in the midst of all that luxury can 
spread before him, in a state very remote from the 
enjoyments of the temperate, humble, and sincere 
believer. 

It would not be right to describe things in a 
declamatory and rhetorical manner, so as to violate 
the truth of representation, for the sake of main- 
taining even the cause of religion. But expe- 
rience will justify me in asserting, that the nume- 
rous tribes in the gay and elevated circles, who 
pursue happiness in dissipation only, and never 
think of God, but to swear with levity by his name, 
exhibit many external signs of singular irritation, 
and peculiar misery. They appear to have no 



240 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



resources in their own bosom. They depend on 
precarious externals, on the will and co-operation 
of others, for all their pleasures. Change of place 
is their grand remedy for their uneasy sensations. 1 
Like a sick man, who turns from side to side on 
his bed, in hope of that sleep which his fever 
denies, they fly to various scenes of public resort, 
in the midst of amusements, unamused ; in the 
midst of pleasure, unpleased ; and reluctantly 
return to their home, where God has given them a 
good inheritance. They have used, or rather 
abused, all their comforts. They are glutted with 
pleasure. Nothing has the grace of novelty to 
recommend it. Behold their dissatisfied counte- 

1 Lucretius well describes this restlessness : — 

Commutare locum, quasi onus deponere possit. 

Exit saepe foras magnis ex asdibus ille, 

Esse domi quern pertaesum est, subitoque revertit ; 

Quippe foris nihilo melius qui sentiat esse. 

Currit agens mannos ad villam ; hie praecipitanter 

Auxilium tectis quasi ferre ardentibus instans : 

Oscitat extemplo, tetigit cum limina villae. 

Aut abit in somnum gravis ; at que oblivia quasrit ; 

Aut etiam properans urbem petit, atque revisit. 

Hoc se quisque modo fugit : at, quod scilicet, ut fit, 

EfTugere haud potis est, ingratis haeret, et angit. 

Lucretius. 

u They know not what they would have, but are continually 
seeking change of place, in the hope of laying down the bur- 
den of time. Tired of home, one man leaves his noble man- 
sion, as often as he can, and then returns to it all on a sudden ; 
just as miserable abroad as at home. Another drives his horses 
full speed to his country-house, dashing along as if he had 
heard the house was on fire, and was hastening to extinguish 
the flames. He no sooner sets his foot within the doors, than he 
begins to yawn or falls fast asleep ; striving to forget himself in 
slumbers ; or else he turns the horses' heads and hurries post 
haste up to town again. Thus every one tries to run away from 
himself ; but he cannot escape a pursuer that sticks close to 
him, and torments him whether he will or no." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



241 



nances, and their artificial smiles, to hide them at 
the gay places of public amusement. Their ap- 
petite grown dull, this world affording no new joy, 
and the next never in their thoughts, they are, at 
first, the slaves of folly, and, at last, the victims 
of despair. 

How different is it with him who has happily 
been tinctured with religion in his early age, and 
learned to seek, as his chief good, ' the peace of 
God which passeth all understanding ? ' ' Great 
peace have they that love thy law.' 1 I do not 
affirm that the Christian religion pretends, like the 
arrogant philosophy of the stoics, to place man out 
of the reach of evil, or to render him insensible 
of misery. A certain portion of evil and misery 
is to be the lot of every mortal ; and wise pur- 
poses are effected by chastisement, when suffered 
to operate in its regular manner in the production 
of humility, godly sorrow, repentance, and amend- 
ment. But this I say, and am justified in the as- 
sertion by the Scriptures of God, and by the ex- 
perience of many pious believers, there is nothing 
which can lessen the evils of life so much, or teach 
a man to bear them with such fortitude, as a full 
dependence on God, and a habit of seeking plea- 
sure in warm yet rational devotion. It will ever 
be found by those who thus seek it faithfully. 

It is not, indeed, to be believed, but that God, 
whose Providence superintends the animal and 
vegetable world, and the inanimate creation, 
should watch over the spiritual with peculiar care, 
and conduct it by his immediate influence. A 
soul, therefore, which, by piety and charity, hum- 

1 Psalm, cxix. 165. 

R 



242 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



bly endeavours to obey the revealed will of God, 
and to render itself acceptable to the eye which 
is too pure to behold iniquity without offence, will 
probably be sure of peculiar regard. No evil so 
great shall happen to it ; no misfortune so heavy 
shall befall it, but that a w T ay to escape shall be 
opened, or a supernatural power of bearing it af- 
forded. A ray of sunshine will beam upon it from 
the fountain of spiritual light, when the world 
presents nothing but dark clouds. Like the Alpine 
mountain, the good and devout Christian rises 
above the clouds, and enjoys a glorious sunshine, 
which erring mortals below him cannot partake. 
He who enjoys the peace of God, may be said to 
resemble the halcyon, whose nest floats on the 
glassy sea, undisturbed by the agitation of the 
waves. 

Men deem themselves fortunate in obtaining 
the patronage of a fellow-creature like themselves, 
elevated by the favour of a prince, or by his own 
industry, above the common level. They feel 
themselves safe, under his protection, from the 
evils of poverty. Yet what is the protection of 
man, of princes and nobles, to the protection of 
the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Ruler 
of princes ? But the pious Christian believes 
firmly that he enjoys the unspeakable advantage. 
It is a continual feast to him. It is a perennial 
spring of living water. In adversity or prospe- 
rity, his chief good remains like the mountain, 
which cannot be moved. It is the rock of ages, 
on which he builds the fair fabric of his felicity. 

What is there, in all the pomp of the world, 
and the enjoyments of luxury, the gratification of 
passion, comparable to the tranquil delight of a 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



243 



good conscience ? It is the health of the mind. 
It is a sweet perfume, that diffuses its fragrance 
over every thing near it, without exhausting its 
store. Unaccompanied with this, the gay pleasures 
of this world are like brilliants to a diseased eye, 
music to a deaf ear, wine in an ardent fever, or 
dainties in the langour of an ague. To lie down 
on the pillow, after a day spent in temperance, in 
beneficence, and piety, how sweet is it! How dif- 
ferent from the state of him, who reclines, at an 
unnatural hour, with his blood inflamed, his head 
throbbing with wine and gluttony, his heart aching 
with rancorous malice, his thoughts totally es- 
tranged from him who has protected him in the 
day and will watch over him, ungrateful as he is, 
in the night season ! A good conscience is, in- 
deed, the peace of God. Passions lulled to sleep, 
clear thoughts, cheerful temper, a disposition to be 
pleased with every obvious and innocent object 
around ; these are the effects of a good conscience ; 
these are the things which constitute happiness; 
and these condescend to dwell with the poor man, 
in his humble cottage in the vale of obscurity. In 
the magnificent mansion of the proud and vain, 
glitter the exteriors of happiness, the gilding, the 
trapping, the pride, and the pomp ; but in the de- 
cent habitation of piety is oftener found the downy 
nest of heavenly peace; that solid good, of which 
the parade of the vain, the frivolous, and volup- 
tuous, is but a shadowy semblance. 

I see a crowd, travelling, by choice, on the Sun- 
day, (the day of rest appointed for man and beast, 
by the benevolent Being who made them,) with a 
speed that almost outstrips the wind. Whither 
are they hastening ? To the regions of delight ; 

r 2 



{ 



244 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



some place of modish resort ; where the sound of 
the viol invites ; where the song, and the dance, 
and the festive board, promise pleasure without 
alloy. Join the train awhile, and mark the event. 
The variety of objects dissipates care for a short 
time ; but weariness soon ensues, and satiety con- 
verts the promised pleasure to indifference, at 
least, if not to pain. And now they return to 
their home, the seat of plenty, with countenances 
that by no means express satisfaction at what 
is just past; that satisfaction which might have 
been expected, considering the preparation, the 
expense, the haste, and the eagerness, which ap- 
peared in the commencement and progress of the 
fashionable excursion. Piety, charity, domestic 
comfort, have all been sacrificed at the shrine of 
fashion; and the fickle, unfeeling deity has be- 
stowed nothing in return, but weariness, languor, 
and a total disrelish of the pleasures of simplicity, 
the sweets of innocence, the feast of benevolence, 
and the enlivening ardour of devotion. 

To contrast the scene, I picture a regular, re- 
spectable, religious family, spending their time, 
after the performance of their social, public, or 
professional duties, around the domestic fire-side, 
in peace and love. Every countenance is illu- 
minated with cheerfulness. No tedium, no ex- 
hausted spirits, no pale, ghastly visages, from the 
vigils of the card-table ; no envious feelings, no 
jealousy nor rage at the sight of superior splen- 
dour. Pleased with a well-spent day, they fall 
on their knees before they retire to repose, and 
thank the Giver of all comfort for the mercies al- 
ready received; and pray, with humble confi- 
dence, for protection in the night, and continuance 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



245 



of mercy during the remainder of life. Cheerful 
and refreshed, they rise in the morning, and go 
forth to the labours of life, chanting the carols of 
pious gratitude. Here is enjoyment of existence ; 
this is life indeed, 1 with a perpetual relish ; not 
attended with the tumultuary ardours of a fever, 
but the gentle, pleasant warmth of sound health. 

You, therefore, who, blessed by Providence 
with profusion of wealth, are enabled to make 
pleasure your constant pursuit, try the experi- 
ment, whether pleasure of the purest kind is not 
to be drawn from the fountains of piety and divine 
love. Amusements and pleasures, commonly so 
called, are not to be rigidly renounced. They are 
not only allowable, but desirable and useful ; so- 
lacing poor human nature in its sorrows, and pro- 
moting, by temporary relaxation, the energies of 
virtue. But surely it is possible to retain reli- 
gious principles inviolate, and to be uniformly 
actuated by religious sentiments, in a life occa- 
sionally diversified by cheerful, and moderate, and 
innocent amusements. Only 'keep your heart 
with all diligence.' Let your imagination be 
pleased ; your thoughts occasionally diverted ; but 
let your heart be unseduced from the love of 
him who first loved you. Let your affections still 
point, like the needle to the north, wherever the 
vessel is blown by the winds, towards God. Your 
hands may be employed, your tongue employed, 
your feet employed, in the avocations of social 
life and civil society ; but let your heart be at 
leisure for the things which belong unto your 



Hoc est vivere. 



246 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



peace ; which will render your life constantly 
cheerful, and your death as little painful as the 
struggles of nature will admit. 

It is never improper to caution the Christian, 
who seeks the peace of God, against such a de- 
gree of impassioned religion as tends, by its 
violence, to destroy all true devotion, or to ab- 
breviate its continuance. There certainly are 
religious persons, who, through the disorder of 
their imaginations, and weakness of judgment, 
seem not to enjoy that tranquillity, or peace of God, 
which religion is calculated to produce. 

Gentleness and moderation contribute to the 
increase as well as duration of our most refined 
enjoyments. We see nothing of extreme rigour, 
nothing of unnatural austerity, nothing of intem- 
perate ardour, in the devotion of our Saviour or 
his disciples ; so that they seem to be no less re- 
pugnant to the gospel, than to reason and philo- 
sophy. Nothing violently passionate is durable ; 
no, not even the ecstacies of religion. Violent 
passion is like a flood after great rains. How- 
ever it may rush in torrents for a day, it will 
exhaust itself, and dwindle to the shallow stream, 
scarcely creeping within the banks of its natural 
channel. 

The passions are the chief destroyers of our 
peace ; the storms and tempests of the moral 
world. To extirpate them is impossible, if it 
were desirable. But to regulate them by habitual 
care, is not so difficult, and is certainly worth all 
our attention. Many men do evidently acquire a 
wonderful command of their passions, in the pre- 
sence of their superiors, or when their temporal 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



247 



interest is concerned. And shall we not attempt 
it in the presence of God dwelling in us, and for 
an everlasting- interest ? 

The task is facilitated by the grace of God, 
which certainly co-operates with man in every 
virtuous endeavour. To Jesus Christ, then, let 
us have recourse, as to the best philosopher. He 
who said to the sea, ' Be still/ will calm our 
passions, as he smoothed the waves. Peace was 
the legacy which he left to his followers. Hear 
his bland and soothing words : 6 Peace I leave 
with you, my peace I give unto you; not as 
the world giveth give I unto you.' * The work 
of righteousness/ says Isaiah, e is peace ; and the 
effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance 
for ever.' ' Grace and peace be multiplied unto 
you,' says St. Peter, c through the knowledge of 
God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 

' Not as the world giveth/ says our Saviour, 
e give I peace.' The world speaks peace, when 
there is no peace. Dissipation, variety of worldly 
business, worldly cares, worldly company, riot, 
noise, intemperance, produce a tumult, which ba- 
nishes reflection, but cannot cause serenity, self- 
possession, and composure. The sick man, who 
has recourse to opium and strong drink to lull his 
malady in a deceitful oblivion, increases his pain 
and his danger. 

The Christian seeks peace, by seeking pardon of 
God by repentance. ' Acquaint thyself with 
God, and be at peace.' He seeks peace, by 
keeping a watch on those great destroyers of it, his 
passions. On these tumultuous waves he pours the 
oil of Christian love, and they are calm. Thus he 



248 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



lives ; at peace with himself, at peace with his 
neighbour, and at peace with his God. 

Thus he lives; and when he quits this earthly 
scene, (like a river, whose banks are flowery, and 
whose waters limpid and smooth,) he glides, un- 
ruffled, into the ocean of eternity. Go, then, gen- 
tle Spirit, to the realms of peace, and enjoy the 
peace of God ! — in the bosom of thy Father, and 
our Father. 1 ' Very pleasant hast thou been unto 
us,'* during the time of thy sojourning here. 
Dove-like were thy manners ; for the Spirit, which 
descended like a dove, inspired thee with every 
amiable disposition, and above all with the love of 
peace, national and public, as well as internal : 
and blessed are the peace- makers ; theirs shall be 
the peace of God which passeth all understanding, 
in the kingdom of heaven. 

In the kingdoms of the earth, indeed, there is 
seldom any lasting peace. What Christian but 
must drop a tear over the fertile realms of Christ- 
endom crimsoned with human blood ; shed at the 
instigation of the spirit of Apollyon, or the des- 
troyer, taking his abode in hearts which have re- 
jected the Holy Ghost, the spirit of love, the God 
of peace ! May the rulers of the world ' receive the 
Spirit of Christ,' and heal the wounds of the peo- 
ple ; so shall they experience, in the hour of their 
own distress, the peace of God which passeth all 
understanding, and their crowns shall be immortal. 



1 John, xx. 17. 



2 2 Sam. i. 26. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



249 



SECTION LVII. 

General Reflections on Happiness — Errors in the 
pursuit of it — No sublunary Happiness perfect — 
Christ's Invitation to the wretched — Christian Phi- 
losophy affords the highest earthly Satisfaction — 
Its Summum Bonum is a State of Grace, or the En- 
joyment of divine Favour, 

To what purpose are laboured declamations on the 
misery of man ? He can want no studied proofs 
of a wretchedness which he sees in others, and 
feels in his own bosom. To expatiate on the symp- 
toms of a disease, without pointing out a cure or an 
alleviation, is only to add to the pain, by increasing 
the impatience of the sufferer. 

After all the melancholy pictures of human life, 
it must be allowed, that there is much comfort in 
the world, blended with its misery. Look abroad, 
from the library into real life, and you will see a 
general appearance of cheerfulness. Though clouds 
intervene, sunshine predominates. The labourer 
and mechanic chant over their daily toil ; and 
though they pause to wipe the sweat off their brow, 
return to their work, after a short but hearty meal 
and the sweetest slumbers, not only without a mur- 
mur, but with alacrity. 

The prospect of reward at the close of a labori- 
ous day, the vicissitudes of rest and labour, the 
succession of ideas in active employment, the 
warmth and agitation of the animal spirits conse- 
quent on exertion, superinduce a delightful obli- 



250 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



vion of care, and render the state of those who are 
supposed to be the least happy, the poor and labo- 
rious, frequently most pleasurable. 

Nor let the higher ranks among us be enviously 
and malignantly misrepresented. Many in the 
higher ranks devote their time to business and 
pleasure alternately, and though ' the harp and the 
viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their 
feasts;' 1 yet some of them, guided by prudence, 
moderation, and piety, take a delight, at the same 
time, ' in regarding the work of the Lord, and con- 
sidering the operations of his hands;' 2 suffering 
neither pleasure nor business to interrupt their en- 
deavour to improve in grace, and to exercise them- 
selves in works of devotion and charity. With re- 
spect to charity, which distinguishes this age and 
nation above all nations on the face of the earth, 
by whom are the great establishments for all infir- 
mities and casualties raised and supported, but by 
the rich and noble, by successful men in business, 
who most benevolently endeavour to communicate 
the happiness to which they were born, or with 
which Providence has blessed their exertions ? 
Happy in themselves, they endeavour to deserve or 
sanctify their prosperity, by imitating him who 
gave it, in acts of most disinterested beneficence. 
For a proof of this, look into our public diaries, 
and the registers of great charities ; and see how 
eagerly the rich and great contribute to their sup- 
port. 

So that, upon the whole, there is certainly an 
appearance of goodness and of joy on the face of 
human affairs ; and this appearance, in many cases, 



Isa. v. 12. 



2 Ibid. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



251 



is, most certainly, supported by reality. The world 
abounds with good as well as evil. Our own dis- 
position and discontent too often poison and em- 
bitter the rich repast. 

It is indeed evident that there is more good than 
evil in the world. Plenty is certainly more com- 
mon than scarcity ; health than sickness ; ease than 
pain. And this is so far confirmed by experience, 
as to render the descriptions of human misery, 
which we read in declamatory harangues, worthy 
of little credit and attention. Few, comparatively, 
know what it is to be completely miserable. Who 
of us, in this country, does not every day enjoy 
some solid comfort ? A vast majority is warmly 
clothed, plentifully fed, and accommodated with a 
house for shelter, and a bed for repose. 

Yet let the balance be held evenly. There is, 
we all experience, an abundance of evil in the 
world ; and it is aggravated and actually increased 
by fear, and the activity of a lively imagination. 

It is true also, that the best of our pleasures and 
enjoyments are rather amusive, than perfectly and 
durably satisfactory. For who ever declared him- 
self, in the midst of grandeur, pleasure, opulence, 
happy to the utmost extent of his wishes ? Who 
but, in some moments, has felt a sentiment of dis- 
content ? Who ever said, f I am now in that 
settled state of enjoyment and perfect contentment, 
that I conceive not a wish of addition to it ; I look 
not to a future day for an increase: I acquiesce; 
free at once from hope and from fear ?' An in- 
voluntary sigh rises in the height of our pros- 
perity. 

I shall think myself not uselessly employed in 
the endeavour to discover the causes of man's failure 



252 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

in search of satisfaction. What is it that dashes 
his sweetest and most plentiful cup with a bitter 
mixture ? 

In the first place, man raises his expectations too 
high ; beyond what nature and experience justify; 
when he ventures to promise himself any happiness 
without defect, and without abatement ; a sun with- 
out spot; a sky without a cloud. The world is not 
our home. The world is now old ; and the experi- 
ment of attaining to perfection of happiness has 
been tried by every individual that ever existed in 
it. Many have left on record an account of their 
experiments, and an uniform avowal of disappoint- 
ment. He, therefore, that would taste the happi- 
ness allowed to human nature, must learn to take 
aim at marks within his reach, to be duly sensible 
of little advantages and common blessings daily, 
exemption from evil, from pain, from debt, from 
extreme want, from infamy, from exile, from im- 
prisonment. How much happier is he who has a 
sufficiency of food, of raiment, a comfortable house, 
and a warm bed, than millions of the human race, 
in savage climes ! Yet these things are little 
thought of by those who murmur at the evils of 
life, and pine with the misery of their own situa- 
tion. Something unpossessed still torments ; yet 
all wish to appear happy. 

Many things which, in the midst of our com- 
plaints, we possess and enjoy in security, would 
perhaps render half of our fellow-creatures raptu- 
rously delighted, though they, who were born to 
them, pay them not the least attention, in the ea- 
gerness of reaching after something more, some- 
thing higher, something better, to be enjoyed at 
a future day ; that day which never comes to 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



253 



mortal man. The possession of our senses entire, 
of our limbs uninjured, of knowledge and skill, of 
friends and companions, is often overlooked, though 
it would be the ultimate wish of many, who, as far 
as we can judge, deserve it as much as ourselves. 

Men always compare themselves with those 
who are above them, without once looking into 
the vale below, where thousands stand gazing at 
them with envy and admiration. By this unfor- 
tunate comparison, their own good things lose 
much of their value in their own esteem, and some- 
times become totally insipid. 

When we consider the number and variety of 
evils, almost intolerable, in the life of man, we 
should learn to esteem every disaster incident to 
human nature, which has not yet fallen to our 
lot, as a just cause of self-congratulation, com- 
placency, and gratitude. But, through envy, we 
turn from the misfortunes of others; and think 
only of those advantages which give them a supe- 
riority over our own condition. If we see a man 
deaf, or dumb, or blind, or lame, or poor, or in 
disgrace, we do not derive comfort from the con- 
sideration of our own exemption from his defects 
and calamities; but if we observe another adorned 
with beauty, endued with strength, elevated to a 
high rank, or loaded with riches, we secretly re- 
pine that we have not been equally blessed with 
worldly prosperity. 

But let us consider how many there are, who 
would envy every one who has but health and 
liberty. Go into an hospital. Visit a poor-house. 
Inspect a prison. Compare your own health, your 
own competency, your own liberty, hard as you 
deem your lot, with the friendless wretch, who 



254 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



lies in the agony of pain, or languor of disease, 
with no help but the cold hand of official chanty. 
No kind relative to sooth with his bland voice, to 
close his eyes, and shed a tear on his departure. 
Compare your lot with his who is loaded with 
chains, where the iron enters his soul, in a cold 
and damp dungeon. Compare it with that of 
your poorer neighbours, at the next door. Com- 
pare it with that of all the sons and daughters 
of affliction, a large family — -every where to be 
found. 

Men are, indeed, too apt to despise what are 
called little advantages, common comforts, daily 
pleasures, hourly conveniences; whereas they are 
often of the highest importance ; as the general 
happiness of life is usually made up of particu- 
lars, which appear minute, but the sum of which 
makes a great total. — We wait till to-morrow to 
be happy ; alas ! why not to-day P Shall we be 
younger ? Are we sure we shall be healthier P 
Shall we see better, hear better, taste better ? 
Look at some aged miser, and judge. Then why, 
in the name of reason, cannot we be happy to-day, 
with a competency and a clear conscience P 

We are unwilling to be satisfied with the plea- 
sures of simplicity, and the delights of nature. 
The beasts around us are contented. The lark 
soars, and sings in exultation ; but man, forget- 
ful of nature, must have recourse to art, to pro- 
cure satisfaction; and things seem to have little 
relish, which are not seasoned by difficulty of at- 
tainment. The greater part of worldlings, espe- 
cially gamesters, esteem mere tranquillity of mind, 
and ease of body, a state of insipidity. 

But, considering the number of evils in life, 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. <55 

man should learn to esteem every one which he 
has escaped, a just cause of self-congratulation 
and of gratitude. The absence of evil is a real 
good. Peace, quiet, exemption from pain, should 
be a continual feast. The aching of a tooth may 
deprive us of all complacency in the midst of 
plenty and magnificence. A fit of the gout or 
stone may make a crown of gold and emeralds, 
a crown of thorns. Then while we have no pain, 
no ache, no sickness, why do we not enjoy our 
tranquillity with pious exultation ? 

Here seems to be the grand error. There is 
a more general desire to appear happy, than to 
be so. Men live in the eyes of their neighbours. 
They wish to possess a glittering happiness, 
careless of its solidity. They are desirous of 
being envied, talked of; and, in reaching after 
the shadow, they drop the substance. 

Such, and many more, are the mistakes of men, 
in the pursuit of happiness. They all originate 
from a desertion of truth and simplicity ; from a 
neglect of God and grace; from vanity, pride, 
folly, and vice. 

But even the wise, the virtuous, the religious, 
and the comparatively happy, are still no more 
than men ; and, being men, are subject to much 
real misery, to bodily pains, diseases, infirmity, 
decay, and worldly losses and crosses. The gar- 
dens of the world produce only deciduous flowers. 
Perennial ones must be sought in the delightful 
regions of heaven. Roses without thorns are the 
growth of Paradise alone. 

Thither then let us repair. And, happily, we 
are called by an invitation, no less urgent than 
kind and merciful. ' Come unto me, says a 



256 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



friendly voice, ' all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest.' 1 Let us con- 
sider the words properly, and allow them their 
full weight upon our hearts. The Redeemer of 
mankind, commissioned from the Creator, utters 
from his own mouth, the gracious summons, 
f Come unto me.' As if he had said : 

u Your own wisdom, your own endeavours, un- 
assisted, are insufficient to secure your happiness, 
and rescue you from misery. ' Come unto me, all 
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest.'" And who is there among us that 
does not labour ? and who is there that is not 
heavy laden ? and who does not want rest in the 
pilgrimage of life ? The burden of our sins, the 
burden of our diseases, the burden of our years, 
press heavily on us, and gladly would many re- 
sign their lives in weariness, if there were no dan- 
ger of a world unknown ; where heavier burdens 
may await him who impatiently throws down the 
load of life. 

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ will either 
lighten our load, or give us strength to bear it. 
He has reconciled us to God ; he has taught us 
to consider our Maker as our friend and father; 
and that all things will work together for our good. 
' Who will show us any good ?' 2 Jesus Christ has 
shown us our supreme good. 

At his departure from us, he left us not alone ; 
but sent his Comforter to us — the Holy Spirit of 
God ; who will continue with all true Christians, 
even to the end of the world. It is he who pre- 
serves a lively, energetic devotion in us ; and not 



Matt, xi.28. 



8 Psalm iv . 6. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



257 



only sanctifies and comforts, but illuminates our 
souls with the beams of grace. The happiness 
of man, after all that has been said upon it, de- 
pends upon a participation of this holy assistance ; 
upon the divine Paraclete, the God of consolation : 
and the misery of man is spiritual desertion. 

Here then let us rest. Adieu to the distrac- 
tion of philosophy ; the never-ceasing disputes of 
unassisted reason ; the dogmatical decisions of 
learned pride and empty vanity. To be happy, 
we must be blessed with the presence of the Holy 
Spirit. In adversity, in prosperity, in sickness, 
and in health, our joys will be pure, our sorrow 
lightened with this holy emanation of the Deity 
in our bosoms. Natural evil we must feel ; moral 
evil, and its effects, we shall often experience ; 
but there will still remain in our hearts, if regen- 
erated, a cordial drop, a source of sweet enjoy- 
ment, of which no external circumstances can ut- 
terly deprive us, 

The method of obtaining this blessing, is to 
perform our duty to ourselves, our neighbours, 
and our God, with pure hearts, and a sincere de- 
sire to conform to the will of our Maker. Much 
time must be given to devotion; more to the of- 
fices of charity ; much to works of industry in our 
calling or profession ; while some may be indulged 
to innocent diversion. The heart will thus be 
renovated, and that change produced in our dis- 
positions, which is termed in Scripture, the becom- 
ing a new man ; and, in the language of theology, 
regeneration. 

Little do they know, who are involved in the 
continual hurry and dissipation of the world, of 
this wonderful change in human nature, and its 

s 



258 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



heightening effect on the enjoyment of life. Busi- 
ness and diversions can afford no delight compa- 
rable to the sweet sensations of a soul composed 
and tranquillized by divine grace. In this state, 
a charming serenity diffuses itself over the mind, 
which becomes, like those happy climes of poesy 
where every breeze is gentle as a zephyr, the 
spring perpetual, and the earth teems, at the same 
time, with flowers of the finest hue, and fruits of 
the most delicious flavour. Nothing sublunary, 
indeed, is perfect ; but there is every reason to 
believe, that the state of the regenerated Chris- 
tian approaches as nearly to the bliss of heaven, 
as it is possible, while the soul is encumbered with 
a mortal body. 

We set out in search of happiness, and here 
we have found it. The question e who will show 
( us any good ? ' 1 is now answered. The chief 
good of man is a state of grace. Other preten- 
sions to it are like shadows to the substance ; 
which they may resemble in shape, while they 
want its essence, its duration, its solidity. What 
we have found, let us never lose. Let us build 
upon a rock. Let us daily grow in grace, and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Thus shall our happiness in this life, 
founded, as it will be, in piety, virtue, and the 
consequent favour of God, rise to more perfect 
happiness in a future state, where the passions and 
appetites of a mortal body shall not weigh down 
the pure ethereal Spirit that, in its present state, 
with wings all too feeble, continually aspires at its 
native clime. 



1 Psalm iv. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



259 



Come then, ye who have wandered, like bleat- 
ing sheep distressed and famished, without a 
shepherd, come to Jesus Christ, to the shepherd 
of your souls, who shall feed you in a green pas- 
ture, and by the river-side. Come unto him, for 
he calls you, all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and he shall give you rest; rest, in your 
passage through this turbulent scene ; and not 
only rest, but fulness of joy at his right hand, 
when your wearied bodies shall lie down in the 
peaceful grave. 



SECTION LVIIL 

Apologetical Conclusion; with a Recapitulation, and 
Addition of a few Particulars respecting the pre- 
ceding Subjects. 

The world, on a superficial view of it, presents 
an appearance of gaiety. Deeply engaged in the 
pursuit of gain, honour, and amusement, few men 
would lament, like Calypso in Telemachus, if they 
were immortal, and doomed to remain, in everlast- 
ing youth and health, on this low orb, wretched 
as it is represented. But as all are conscious that 
this is impossible, the next endeavour is to drown 
thought in the whirlpools of dissipation. Most 
persons, however, choose to be called Christians, 
and would be not a little disgusted with the offi- 

s 2 



260 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



cious monitor, who should venture to suggest to 
them that, as they seldom or never bestow on 
Christianity the least solicitude, they can have no 
just pretensions to the name. 

But busy as men are, in pursuits foreign to 
piety, it is certain that after a few short years, the 
principal concern of the proudest, bravest, and 
fairest of the sons and daughters of Adam, wjll be 
religion. To that friend, whom many slight in the 
season of youth, health, and prosperity, they will 
(secretly, perhaps, but eagerly) fly for succour, in 
the time of age, sorrow, sickness, and death. 
What, indeed, is man, in his most flourishing state P 
What, the most admired and distinguished indi- 
vidual of us all, but an infirm, dependent crea- 
ture ; subject, from the cradle, to ten thousand 
evils ; doomed gradually, often painfully, to decay, 
and certainly, perhaps most deplorably, to die ? 
Second childhood, idiotism, insanity, palsy, blind- 
ness, deafness, lameness! ye are powerful preach- 
ers to those who mark well your ravages among 
the sons of men, once most highly distinguished 
for strength, comeliness, genius, all that charms 
the heart, and dazzles the imagination with tran- 
sient brilliancy. 

" Think, mortal," says the poet, " what it is to 
die." Think also, I add, what it is to see those 
whom we love die before us ; die, agonized with 
pain, after languishing with lingering disease; to 
attend them with all the blandishments of affec- 
tion, without being able to contribute to their 
ease, or add one moment to their existence. Is 
there any partaker of human nature, however 
thoughtless, who, when he feels actually brought 
home to his own bosom, or to his own family, the 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



261 



real calamities, the sore distresses of life, will not 
be anxious to seek comfort of religion, to acquaint 
himself with God, and be at peace with him ? 
His prospect in the* world is forlorn and dismal. 
It is a barren land, where no water is. Though 
it flattered him in better days, it now turns away 
from him in the hour of his utmost need. Indeed, 
if it were still inclined to sooth him, it has no 
cordials for his heart, no balsams for his wounded 
spirit. To heaven only he can look for comfort, 1 

1 As examples of men well known, and recently in the land 
of the living, teach more effectually than any precepts and ad- 
monitions, I have selected the two following, to show how men 
of the world and men of pleasure are affected by disease and 
the decays of age. 

The following verses, a translation of a Psalm, by the late 
Mr. Colman, who had been much conversant with the gay 
world, exhibit the state of mind to which the liveliest wits and 
men of fashion may be reduced, on a sudden, by sickness, by a 
stroke of the palsy, or any other malady. 

" Psalm xxxix. imitated in blank verse : — 
" I will take heed, I said, I will lake heed, 
Nor trespass with my tongue ; will keep my mouth 
As with a bridle, while the sinner 's near. 
— Silent I mus'd, and e'en from good refrain'd, 
But full of pangs, my heart was hot within me ; 
The lab'ring fire burst forth, and loos'd my tongue. 
Lord, let me know the measure of my days ; 
Make me to know how weak, how frail I am ! 
My days are as a span, mine age as nothing, 
And man is altogether vanity. 
Man walketh in an empty shade ; in vain 
Disquieting his soul, he heaps up riches, 
Knowing not who shall gather them. And now 
Where rests my hope ? — O Lord ! it rests with thee. 
Forgive me mine offences ! Make me not 
A scorn unto the foolish ! I was dumb, 
And open'd not my mouth, for 'twas thy doing. 
O, take thy stroke away ! thy hand destroys me. 
When, with rebukes, thou chasteneth man for sin, 
Thou mak'st his beauty to consume away : 



262 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and there he will not seek it in vain. Religion 
has confessedly furnished a sweet solace, under 
extreme affliction, when the heart sickened at the 
pleasures of the world, and viewed its pageantries 
with contempt. Bitterer than wormwood has been 
the cup of adversity ; but religion has infused a 
honied drop into it, which has overcome the bit- 
terness : gloomy as midnight has been the lower- 
ing sky, but religion has tinged the clouds with 
gold and purple, and opened a prospect of the blue 
expanse. 

Distemper preys upon him, as a moth 

Fretting a garment. Ah, what then is man ? 

Ev'ry man living is but vanity ! 

Hear, hear my prayer, O Lord ! O hear my cry ! 

Pity my tears ! for I am in thy sight 

But as a stranger and a sojourner, 

As all my fathers were. O, spare me then, 

Though but a little, to regain my strength, 

Ere I be taken hence, and seen no more !"— Colman. 

Let us hear also lord Chesterfield, a complete man of the 
world. The following is an extract from one of his letters : — 

" I have run," says he, " the silly rounds of business and 
pleasure, and have done with them all. I have enjoyed all the 
pleasures of the world, and consequently know their futility, 
and do not regret their loss. I appraise them at their real 
value, which is, in truth, very low. Whereas those that have 
not experienced, always overrate them. They only see their 
gay outside, and are dazzled with the glare. But I have been 
behind the scenes. I have seen all the coarse pulleys and dirty 
ropes which exhibit and move the gaudy machines ; and I have 
seen and smelt the tallow candles which illuminate the whole 
decoration, to the astonishment and admiration of the ignorant 
audience. 

u When I reflect on what I have seen, what I have heard, 
and what I have done, I can hardly persuade myself that all 
that frivolous hurry of bustle and pleasure of the world had any 
reality ; but I look upon all that is passed, as one of those ro- 
mantic dreams, which opium commonly occasions; and I do 
by no means desire to repeat the nauseous dose, for the sake of 
the fugitive dream. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



263 



But what religion ? There is no religion but the 
Christian, which, in the present state of society, 
can make any claim to general reception. There is 
none but the Christian, which can afford the small- 
est consolation. Explode Christianity, as some 
pretenders to benevolence seem to wish, and you 
rob the blind of their surest guide, and the wretched 
of their best friend and protector. You take away 
the staff of age, the chart and compass of youth, 
the pillow of pain, the grand column and orna- 
ment of human life. Man degenerates, without it, 
to a brute of superior sagacity to do mischief, and 
superior sensibility to suffer pain. 

But there are many, and those able and distin- 
guished men in the business of the world, who ap- 
pear to reject Christianity entirely. Many give it 
no attention ;* but contented with the decencies of 
life, and coldly complying with outward forms, 

" Shall I tell you that I bear this melancholy situation with 
that meritorious constancy and resignation which most people 
boast of ! No ; for I really cannot help it. I bear it, because 
I must bear it y whether I will or no ! — I think of nothing but 
killing time the best way I can, now that he is become my ene- 
my. It is my resolution to sleep in the carriage during the 
remainder of the journey." 

" You see," says bishop Home, remarking on this passage, 
" in how poor, abject, and unpitied a condition, at a time when 
he most wanted help and comfort, the world left him and he 
left the world." 

Compare these words with those of another person, who took 
his leave of the world in a very different manner. 

" I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my 
course ; I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, will give me at that day." St. Paul. 

1 They know nothing about it, and therefore cannot desire or 
study it. Ignoti nulla cupido. — £ The people perish through lack 
of knowledge.' Hosea, iv. 6. The Indians prefer any bauble, 
which rattles and looks fine, to their mines of gold. 



264 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



claim a merit in submitting quietly to its ordinan- 
ces, and making no open opposition to it. Others 
profess to believe all religion equally true, equally 
false, and equally useful to the politician. Most of 
these are probably driven, at last, by their distress, 
in the evil days, and in the anguish of their hearts, 
to seek the aid of her, whom they despised or neg- 
lected in prosperity, and to take refuge, during the 
storm, in the shelter of the temple. But is it not 
desirable, in every stage of life, to be under the 
protection of one who is found so faithful a friend 
in the last stage ? And is it not the part of every 
truly benevolent man, if opportunities offer, and, 
more particularly, if his professional duty not only 
justifies, but demands, an active interference in 
promoting the solid happiness of others, to endea- 
vour to persuade his fellow-creatures to seek, in the 
most effectual manner, the light and consolation of 
Christianity ? He can in no possible mode contri- 
bute so much to the melioration of society, and the 
improvement of the human race. Look at a neigh- 
bouring country, and see the misery consequent on 
renouncing Christianity. Mercy and justice seem 
to have fled from the land, together with the 
gospel. God hath avenged his cause in a most 
awful manner. 

To stop the progress of infidelity, to resuscitate 
the dormant spirit of vital religion, the true nature 
of Christianity must be plainly pointed out to the 
mass of the people, the great as well as the vulgar; 
the great, I say, to whom, from thoughtlessness 
and immersion in sensuality, it is often little 
known, 1 however it may be professed. Chris- 

1 What is the gospel ? ' The record that God hath given to 
us eternal life, and that life is in his Son.' 1 John, v. 2. It is 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



265 



tianity, indeed, it may be suspected, is too imper- 
fectly understood, even by scholars, philosophers, 
and statesmen of the first rank, and the greatest 
celebrity. 1 

a question of prime importance. Yet there are able men of 
singular address and dexterity in all political and commercial 
business, who perhaps never asked the question with serious- 
ness ; and who seem to be merely novices, or downright igno- 
ramuses, in the school of Christ. 

1 Let such persons consider the economy of grace, as thus 
briefly displayed by bishop Warburton, who, nevertheless, was 
a great opposer of the true doctrine of divine energy ; and who, 
on that account, may have the more weight with many. 

" The blessed Jesus came into the world to declare the good- 
will of our heavenly Father to the forfeited posterity of Adam. 
He testified the truth of his mission by amazing miracles ; and 
sealed the redemption of mankind, by the more amazing devo- 
tion of himself to an ignominious death. 

" But as the redemption, so generally procured, could only 
operate on particulars, under certain circumstances of faith and 
obedience, very repugnant to our corrupted nature, the blessed 
Jesus, on his leaving the world, promised his followers his in- 
tercession with the Father, to send another divine person — the 
Holy Ghost, called the 6 Spirit of Truth,' and the 6 Comforter' 
— who, agreeably to the import of those names, should co» 
operate with us in establishing faith, and in perfecting obedi- 
ence ; or, in other words, should sanctify us to redemption. 

" This is a succinct account of the economy of grace ; entirely 
consonant to our best conceptions of the nature of God, and the 
condition of man. For if man was to be reinstated in a free 
gift, justly forfeited, we cannot but suppose that as, on the one 
hand, it might be restored on what conditions best pleased the 
giver ; so, on the other, God would graciously provide, that it 
should not be bestowed in vain. 

" An atonement, therefore, was to be made for the offended 
majesty of the Father, and this was the work of the Son ; and a 
remedy was to be provided for the miserable condition of man, 
which hindered the atonement from producing its effect ; and 
this was the office of the Holy Ghost ; so that both were joint 
workers in the great business of reconciling God to man. 

" The office of the Holy Ghost is to enlighten the under- 
standing, and to rectify the will." — Bishop Warburton. 

This is the testimony of an adversary. 



266 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



To call the attention of men to Christianity, and 
to render its true genius and nature better known, 1 
is the scope of this little book ; a book by no means 
intended to promote the interest, or gratify the 
pride of any particular division or subdivision of 
Christians, but to serve the common cause of all 
human beings, by maintaining the divine origin, 
describing the real essence and energy, and dif- 
fusing the powerful efficacy of that sublime philo- 
sophy, which, under the immediate operation of an 
all-wise and benign Deity, promises to tranquillize 
life, and conduct man, through paths of peace, to 
realms of eternal felicity. 

What then is the principle of this philosophy, 
which gives it a decided superiority over all that 
has been taught in the groves of Academus, the 
Portico, and the Lyceum ? It is (as I hope has 
been evinced in the preceding pages) a beam of 
light from the Father of lights ; a lumen de lumine, 
(S light of light ;" the breath of the power of God, 
restoring degenerate human nature to that image 
which it lost at the fall, and re-establishing it in 
primeval dignity. The Holy Ghost, it appears, is 
the divine Being, now and for ever engaged in 

" The Christian that rejects, reproaches, and writes against 
the necessity of immediate divine inspiration, (as Warburton 
did,) pleads the whole cause of infidelity." — Law. 

1 " In many countries called Christian, neither Christianity 
nor its evidence are fairly laid before men ; and in places where 
both are, there appear to be some, who have very little attended 
to either ; and who reject Christianity with a scorn proportionate 
to their inattention ; and yet are by no means without under- 
standing in other matters." — Bishop Butler. 

" I have been so long conversant with the classics," said Dr. 
Conyers Middleton, " that I grow squeamish when I come to 
the Scriptures." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



267 



effecting this happy renovation ; in producing a 
change which no human wisdom could ever accom- 
plish, without supernatural assistance ; without 
that gift which our Lord gave to men after his 
ascension. 

The elegant refinements of human philosophy 
may furnish a pleasing amusement for those who 
possess the advantages of a classical education, 
and of literary leisure. The Christian philosophy 
alone is calculated for all mankind ; this alone can 
bring peace at the last ; 1 peace, during the conti- 
nuance of life, as well as its close ; a transcend ant 
peace, called in Scripture, the ' peace of God ? 
which passeth all understanding;' and which cer- 
tainly constitutes that supreme good of man, in 
selecting which, human philosophy could never yet 
finally agree. Happily, it is a kind of philosophy 
to which every human being, consistently with 
God's equity, may attain ; requiring not cultured 
intellects, nor a life of academical seclusion, but 
faithful, fervent prayer, accompanied with sincere, 
though imperfect obedience. ' If ye, being evil,' 
says our Saviour, ' know how to give good gifts 
unto your children, how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask him ? ' Nothing is to be desired by mortal 
man, in comparison with this gift — f the supply of 
the Spirit of Jesus Christ.' 2 The end, it appears, 

1 " I would," said the great Grotius, whose book, 4 On the 
Truth of the Christian Religion,' is recommended to all young 
students, though, I believe, it never convinced any man living ; 
" I would," said he, a little before he died, " give all my learn- 
ing and honour, for the plain integrity and innocence of J ean 
Urick ;" a poor illiterate neighbour of his, who spent much 
of his time in prayer, and was an honest plain man, and indus- 
trious in his calling. — John Edwards. 

2 Phil. i. 19. 



268 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



to be pursued by this philosophy, is the attainment 
of the Spirit's influence; the means, prayer and 
obedience. Such is the sum and substance of 
Christian Philosophy ; a title 1 which I have chosen, 
because, from a strange perverseness, a great part 
of the world, too often guided by names, is willing 
to listen to philosophy, while it closes the iron 
doors of prejudice against the voice of religion. 

The divine energy announced to mankind in the 
glad tidings of the gospel, under the name of gifts 
and grace, operating, now and for evermore, on 

1 This name Christianity bears in the writings of some of the 
ancient fathers. Thus Justin Martyr, speaking of Christianity, 
says, 

Eti ro> ovti <£IA020<£IA fieyt^ov KTrjfia icai tiiumtgltov 
Qeu), (*)ts irpoaayei /ecu avvt^rjcriv r\\iac, [xovvr}. — Dialog, cum 
Tryph. 

He adds, that he found this philosophy, meaning the Chris- 
tian, the only philosophy that was useful, and to be depended 
upon. 

Tavrrjv \iovv\v evpivicov QCkoGotyiav aa<pa\rj t% icai avji- 
<popov. — Ibid. 

Isidore also terms Christianity " the new and evangelical 
philosophy." 

H vea icai evayysXiKrj 4>IA020<E>IA. — Epist. lib. iv. 

And, in another place, he calls it "the heavenly philosophy." 

0TPANI02 3>IA020$IA.— Epist. lib. v. 

Several other fathers call it the Christian philosophy. — Vide 
Sozomen. Eccles. Hist. lib. v. cap. 12. 

And let it be remembered, that, 

Non tarn discendo, quam patiendo divina, 
Mens perficitur humana. 

" The human mind is perfected not so much by learning 
divine things, as by passively receiving the impressions of Di- 
vinity." 

Homines ideo fallantur, quod aut religionem suscipiunt, 
omissa sapientia, aut sapientias soli student, omissa religione, 
cum alterum sine altero esse non possit veram. Lactantius de 
falsa Sapient, lib. iii. — " Men are deceived in this account, be- 
cause they either adopt religion to the neglect of philosophy ; 
or study philosophy alone, to the neglect of religion ; whereas 
the one without the other cannot be what it strictly ought to be." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



269 



every human heart prepared to admit it, appears, 
from what has been advanced in these pages, to be 
the living, everlasting gospel, still accompanying 
the written word, and conveying illumination, 
sanctifi cation, consolation. It would not cease to 
operate, being sent down from heaven on our Lord's 
ascension, even if it were possible that ink and 
paper, by whose instrumentality the written word 
is transmitted, were utterly lost. It originates 
from Omnipotence, and cannot entirely rely, for its 
continuance or effect, on means merely human, 
weak, contingent, and perishable. He who once 
views the gospel of Jesus Christ in this light; he 
who considers it as a vital influence from heaven, 
and recognizes its energy on his heart, as he will 
do, in consequence of prayer and obedience, will 
want no other proof of the truth and excellence of 
Christianity. He will have the witness in himself ; 
and stand in no need of the schoolmen's folios, the 
verbal subtleties of the critic, or the acrimonious 
disputes of the polemic. He will find, that some 
of the most learned men, the most voluminous 
writers on theological subjects, were totally igno- 
rant of Christianity. He will find that they were 
ingenious heathen philosophers, assuming the name 
of Christians, and forcibly paganizing Christianity, 
for the sake of pleasing the world, of extending 
their fame, and enjoying secular honours and lu- 
crative pre-eminence. 1 

' There are those, says the apostle, ( who seek their own, 
and not the things of Jesus Christ.' Phil. ii. 21. 

Such as these are called by Ignatius %pt<rf/i7ropot, dealers and 
chapmen in Christ. Unprofitable truths they will have no more 
to do with, than traders with unsaleable commodities. 

Bishop Home says, " Those clergymen, who betray the cause 
of their Master in order to be promoted in the church, are guilty 



270 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



" Godly persons," that is, Christian philoso- 
phers, are described, in those articles which all 
churchmen have most solemnly assented to, as " such 
as feel in themselves the Spirit of Christ, mortify- 
ing the works of the flesh, and drawing up their 
minds to high and heavenly things." He who 
feels the Spirit in him, will be conscious of possess- 
ing the pearl of great price, and will lock it up in 
the sanctuary of his heart, as his richest treasure, 
never to be*despoiled of it by the seducing arts of 
false philosophy ; never to exchange that pure gold, 
which is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, 
for the base metal of worldly politicians, who may 
endeavour, as they have done, to make truth itself 
alter her immutable nature, to serve the varying 
purposes of temporary ambition. Those doctrines 
of Christianity, which were true under the first 
Charles, will be considered, notwithstanding the 
subtle attempts of politicians, equally true under 
the abandoned profligacy of a second ; or in subse- 
quent reigns, when it was discovered by the court 
divines, that Christianity was as old as the creation, 
and the religion of grace, a mere republication of 
the religion of nature. 1 The substance of Chris- 

of the worst kind of simony, and pay their souls for the purchase 
of their preferment." 

1 This, though the pious Sherlock's doctrine, is nearly the 
same with the infidel Voltaire's, though not quite so honourable 
to Christianity. 

Notre religion revelee n'est meme, et ne pouvoit etre, que 
cette loi naturelle perfection^ ? Discours sur le Theisme, par 
M. de Voltaire. — " Our revealed religion is not, indeed could 
not be, any thing else but the law of nature advanced to per- 
fection." 

Of preaching natural religion for Christianity, let us hear the 
opinion of two other celebrated divines, and pious men. 

" Scarce any thing," says Dr. Trapp, " has of late years been 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



271 



tianity can survive the wreck of empires, the de- 
molition of temples made with hands, and the dis- 
mission of a superstitious or a time-serving priest- 
hood. The living temple of the heart, where the 
Holy Spirit fixes his shrine, will stand unimpaired, 
amidst the fallen columns of marble. The king- 
dom of heaven will remain unshaken, amidst all the 
convulsions of this changeable globe. We are told, 
that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; 
and, though it should happen, in any country of 
Christendom, that the rulers should be infidels, and 
the visible church abolished ; yet while there are 
human creatures left alive in it, the church of 
Christ may still flourish. The doctrine of grace is 
the only doctrine which tends to preserve Christi- 
anity in the world, independent of the caprice and 

more prejudicial to religion^ than the neglect of the theological 
part of it, properly so called : and it is very greatly to be la- 
mented, that some writers, even of our own church, out of an 
undue terror, in opposing some undue doctrines of Calvin, 
have run into the other extreme, and have too little regarded 
the necessary doctrines of religion." 

They have dwelt upon the agenda, and totally neglected the 
credenda. 

66 To preach practical sermons, as they are called, that is, 
sermons upon virtues and vices, without inculcating those great 
Scripture truths, of redemption, grace, and the like, which alone 
can incite and enable us to forsake sin, and follow after righte- 
ousness — what is it but to put together the wheels, and set the 
hands of a watch, forgetting the spring which is to make them 
all go ?" Bishop Home, and Dr. Trapp, in his Preface 
to " Preservative/' 

What Quintilian said, may be applied to moral preaching, 
when unaccompanied with evangelical. 

Nunc vero quae velut propria philosophise asseruntur passim 
tractamus omnes : quis enim modo de justo, aequo, ac bono, non 
et vir pessimus loquitur. Quint. Procemium. — u But now, those 
topics which are asserted to be peculiar to philosophy, all of us 
(rhetoricians as well as philosophers) treat of indiscriminately ; 



272 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



pride of statesmen 1 and philosophers, or the wicked- 
ness of the people. Who shall be impious enough 
to maintain that God cannot preserve, by his own 
methods, his own dispensation ? 

Civil and ecclesiastical power in union, together 
with the assistance of early education, may, in- 
deed, retain, in a nation, the forms and the name 
of Christianity; but " the proper force of religion, 
that force which subdues the mind, which awes the 
conscience, and influences the private conduct, as 
well as the public," will only be preserved by a 
vital experimental sense 2 of the divine energy of 
the Holy Ghost, whom we declare, with one voice, 
in our churches, whenever we repeat the Nicene 
creed, to be the " Lord and giver of life." 

I have endeavoured to diffuse this vital, experi- 
mental sense, from a conviction that it is peculiarly 
desirable at a time when infidelity is said to increase, 
beyond the example of any former age. But I 
know that I oppose prejudices deeply rooted, and 

for who, even the worst of men, hesitates to prate about the just, 
the equitable, and the good ?" — Quintilian. 

1 " With great worldly wisdom, there is always great pride, the 
greatest adversary to true and sanctified Christian knowledge. All 
the skill that men so minded can attain to in heavenly matters, 
is but like lessons got by rote. It must be quite forgotten, or, 
at least, utterly renounced and laid aside, before we can be ad- 
mitted into the school of Christ." — Dr. Jackson, vol. i. b. ii. 
c.14. 

2 tC Let it be considered that man, besides the benefit of reason 
to direct him, is blessed with the advantage of something, if not 
always equivalent, certainly not inferior to the highest refine- 
ments of instinct in lower animals ; and from the same fountain, 
I mean grace, the grace of God ; which, if any one be hardy, 
and unphilosophical, and unchristian enough to deny, I shall not 
attempt to confute him ; only desire him to consider calmly, 
whether it be more incongruous to suppose God aiding and di- 
recting reasonable, but fallible beings, with his grace, than brutes 
with instincts. " — Delaney. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



273 



far extended. These doctrines are frowned upon 
by men in high stations. 1 I know that oar Saviour 
has predicted, what experience has abundantly ve- 
rified, that the preaching and teaching of the true 
gospel, will ever create enemies in the world. 2 The 
modes of persecution differ in different periods; 
but, in all times, the defenders of evangelical truth 
are exposed to some mode or some degree of it. 
I know it well ; yet, ' Woe is me/ may I, and 
every preacher say, ' if I preach not the gospel;' 3 
the true gospel ; such at least, as after the most 
careful search and long consideration, it appears to 
my imperfect understanding, and such as I believe 
it to be in my soul. I only desire the adversary, if 
any such should arise, to allow the possibility that 
he, as well as I, and the many great men who sup- 
port me in my sentiments, may be mistaken ! and 
to ask his own heart, whether he has hitherto 
studied the subject as a truly humble Christian, 4 a 
fallen, depraved, ignorant, and weak creature ; or 
merely as a scholar, critic, philosopher, logician, 
metaphysician, controversialist, or politician, con- 
tending for the glory of victorious disputation, or 
the rewards of a profession established and en- 
couraged by the state. 

If any clergyman 5 of the church of England 

1 " These doctrines serve no end of popular learning, they 
help no people to figure and preferment in the world, and are 
useless to scholastic, controversial writers." —Law. 

2 But I must remember that, 6 the fear of man bringeth a 
snare ; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, shall be safe.' — 
Proverbs, xxix. 25. 

3 1 Cor. ix. 16. 

4 Antoninus taught that the very first requisite to form a philo- 
sopher, was (nro&aXuv oirjcriv, to throw away all conceit of 
knowledge. 

5 The Rev. Mr. Thomas Edwards, Fellow of Clare Hall, 

T 



274 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



should be disposed utterly to deny the doctrine of 
immediate grace, divine energy, and supernatural 
impulse, I would beg leave humbly and affection- 
Cambridge, after writing a learned and elaborate book against 
the doctrine of grace, is compelled, by the force of truth, at the 
conclusion of it, to make the following concessions : 

" There are undoubtedly several passages which sufficiently 
show, that the operations of the Holy Spirit are not to be en- 
tirely limited and confined to the extraordinary and miraculous 
gifts and endowments peculiar to the apostolic age; but, on the 
contrary, that it will, in all succeeding ages, be communicated 
in a peculiar manner, to all those who may stand in need of it, 
in order to the discharge of their duty. 

<£ I can therefore by no means give into their opinion, who, 
with the witty French Jesuit, look upon these supernatural 
workings of the Spirit upon the minds of men, as entirely 
visionary or chimerical; or, as he expressed himself, a mere 
nescio quid, (je ne sais quoi.) A tempore Augustini, vix ulla 
vox frequentior fuit voce gratia, ubi sermo est de hominis ad 
saniorem mentem reditu et vi, cui is reditus debetur. Ea tamen 
voce quid significetur, cum ab iis quasritur, qui eautuntur, nihil 
responsi perspicui ferre licet. Hinc factum utin Gallia, Jesuita 
festivi ingenii, non inficete dixit, £ Gratiam illam divinam, quas 
tantum strepitum excitavit in scholis, et tam mirabiles effectus 
in hominum animis edit, gratiam illam adeo efficacem, et sua- 
vem simul, quae de duritie cordis, illaesa arbitrii libertate, tri- 
umphat, nihil esse tandem, prater nescio quid.' Clerici, Ars 
Crit. p. 2. s. 1. c. 8. — " From the time of St. Augustin, scarcely 
any word has been in more frequent use than the word grace, 
when the subject of discourse is a man's return to a sounder 
mind, and the power to which that return is to be ascribed. But 
when the meaning of the word is asked of them who use it, they 
can give no clear and definite answer. Hence it happened that 
in France a Jesuit of a facetious turn jocosely said, £ That this 
divine grace which made such a noise in the schools, and pro- 
duced such wonderful effects on the minds of men ; this grace, 
at once so efficacious and delightful, which triumphs over the 
hardness of the human heart, without destroying free will, was 
after all nothing more than what the French express by the 
phrase, ' Je ne sais quoi.' 

" The general manner in which the Spirit operates upon men, 
we may, I humbly conceive, suppose to be, by raising such par- 
ticular ideas, or making such particular impressions upon their 
minds, as may influence them," &c. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



275 



ately to remind him of the question proposed to 
him when he was ordained a minister of Christ, 
and the answer he then made, with every circum- 
stance of religious solemnity, receiving the sacra- 
ment upon it, and thus evidently resting all his 
hopes of God's blessing on his sincerity. 1 

The question is, " Do you trust that you are 
inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take upon 
you this office and ministry to serve God, for the 
promoting of his glory, and the edifying of his 
people ?" " I trust so," replies the person to be or- 
dained. 

As the topic is rather invidious, and certainly 
concerns myself as well as any of them whom I 
have the honour to call my brethren in the profes- 
sion, I will refer it to bishop Burnet, to make re- 
marks on the response to the interrogatory. " Cer- 
tainly," says the truly able prelate, "the answer 
that is made to this, ought to be well consi- 
dered ; for if any one says, ' I trust so,' that yet 
knows nothing of any such motion, and can 
give no account of it, he lies to the Holy Ghost, 
and makes his first approach to the altar with 
a lie in his mouth ; and that not to men, but 
to God. Shall not God reckon with those who run 
without his mission, pretending that they trust they 
have it, when perhaps they understand not the im- 
portance of it ? nay, and perhaps some laugh at it, 

1 " All sacerdotal power is derived from the Holy Ghost ; 
and they who do not acknowledge themselves under the Holy 
Ghost's influence, acknowledge that they have no sacerdotal 
power. Our Saviour himself took not the ministry upon him, 
till he had this consecration." 

We think too lowly of the priest's office in our age. Very 
great it is under the energy of the Holy Ghost. 

T 2 



276 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



as an enthusiastical question, who yet will go 
through the office. They come to Christ for the 
loaves ; they hope to live by the altar and the gos- 
pel, how little soever they serve at one or preach 
the other ; therefore they will say any thing that 
is necessary for qualifying them [to receive the 
loaves and fishes,] whether true or false." The 
bishop's animadversion is severe ; and every man's 
own conscience must whisper to him, in his own 
case, whether it be just and true. 

One thing, however, is certain, and sufficient for 
my purpose. It is plain that persons who enter on 
the ministry, thus declaring themselves to believe 
that they are under a supernatural motion or im- 
pulse, cannot consistently deny, or explain away, 
the main principle of my book, which is the reality 
of such a supernatural motion or impulse. They 
confess that, in their own persons, they believe they 
have experienced that divine energy of the Holy 
Ghost, which, I maintain, moves the mind to be- 
lieve in Christ, and inclines the heart to all moral 
virtue. 

If the sublime and comfortable doctrine of im- 
mediate grace were generally preached, the churches 
would be better frequented and infidelity rare. 1 

1 cc We must carry this yet further than the bare believing 
that these things (the doctrines of Christianity) are true ; such a 
faith devils have. We must make our people understand, that 
this faith purifies the heart, and works by love : and it only 
becomes a saving and justifying faith, when, upon our entering 
upon the practice of those rules that this religion prescribes, we 
feel a real virtue derived into us, that makes us new creatures, 
and gives us such a vital perception of the truth of the promises 
made us in it, that we receive these, as^earnests of our inheritance, 
and so taste and see that God is gracious to us. This makes us 
living stones in the spiritual building." Bishop Burnet's 
Charge. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



277 



The common people, unspoiled by vain philoso- 
phy, hunger and thirst for the spiritual food which 
comes down from heaven. Ought not their shep- 
herds to feed them with such as is convenient for 
them, and to lead them from broken cisterns and 
barren lands, to the green pasture, and streams of 
living water ? Who shall judge what is most con- 
venient for them ? a few individuals, or the million, 
directed, in their choice, by the concurrent guid- 
ance of the church, the liturgy, and the Scriptures ? 
It has been justly suggested, by a wit of antiquity, 
that the guests, and not the cooks, are to judge 
of the taste and salubrity of the viands prepared 
for the table. Now the guests invited to the spi- 
ritual feast, appear, by their numerous attendance, 
to prefer the food which comes from above, the 
truly evangelical doctrine of grace. However un- 
skilfully dispensed, the places of worship where it is, 
or appears to be, dispensed at all, are thronged with 
multitudes, while other places are almost deserted. 
How are the churches crowded by young and poor 
persons, at confirmations ; the whole of which office 
is founded, most evidently, on the doctrine of grace, 
and the Holy Spirit's actual interposition. 

The following is the bishop's prayer, in the of- 
fice of confirmation : " Almighty and everlasting 
God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy 
servants, by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast 
given unto them forgiveness of all their sins; 
strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with 
the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and daily increase 
in them thy manifold gifts of grace, the spirit of 
wisdom and understanding ; the spirit of coun- 
sel and ghostly strength ; the spirit of know- 
ledge and true godliness ; and fill them, O Lord, 



278 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



with the spirit of thy holy fear, now and for ever." 
The bishop then laying his hand upon every one 
severally, says, " Defend, O Lord, this thy child, 
with thy heavenly grace, that he may continue thine 
for ever ; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit 
more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting 
kingdom." He proceeds thus: "Almighty and 
everlasting God, who makest us both to will and to 
do those things that be good and acceptable unto 
thy divine Majesty, let thy Holy Spirit ever be 
with them ; and so lead them in the knowledge 
and obedience of thy holy word, that in the end 
they may obtain everlasting life. Vouchsafe to 
direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and 
bodies," &c. 

Can any bishop who reads these words, or any 
parish priest who sends the young ones of his 
flock to hear them, consistently deny the doctrine 
of divine energy, or immediate grace ? l 

Exclusively of this sublime doctrine, the Gospel, 
considered merely as a book of morality, has not 
so great an advantage over the Koran, as every 
Christian must wish and believe it to possess. 
Mahomet requires, in the Koran, " the belief of 
one God, trust in him, frequent prayer and fast- 
ing, alms-giving even to strangers, keeping of 
covenants, justice in dealings, patience in adver- 
sity ; to honour father and mother, and to main- 
tain them if they are old and poor. He forbids 
usury, bearing false witness, profane swearing, and 
the murdering of infants, which had formerly been 
common in Arabia." The Mahometan also allows 

1 Bishop Beveridge says, " A man may as soon read the letter 
of the Scripture without eyes, as understand the mysteries of the 
gospel without grace." 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



279 



Jesus to be a prophet sent from God, and com- 
missioned to be a great instructor, reformer, and 
Saviour. I say, divest Christianity of the gift 
which our Lord gave to men, after his ascension, 
and the infidel will place Christ far below Socrates, 
Plato, Epictetus, Seneca, and rank him with Ma- 
homet, or even in a lower class; since there are 
many who deem the Koran a very fine compo- 
sition, far superior to the narratives of Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John, and to the epistles of Paul, 
the chief of the apostles. 

Divest Christianity of the Spirit's energy, and 
you rob it of its appropriate, distinguishing, and 
exclusive excellence and glory. You place it 
among the modes of superstition which, at various 
times, have been encouraged by states, in order to 
facilitate the movements of the political engine, in 
almost every country on the face of the globe. 
You make it the invention of man ; and, as the 
invention of man, it will often be despised, in com- 
parison with the philosophy which prevailed in 
the elegant schools of Athens and Rome, and which 
clothed its fine morality in all the seducing em- 
bellishments of a polished diction. The writings 
of Plato and Cicero will be preferred to those of 
the evangelists and apostles, if the pearl which 
enriches the plain compositions of the latter, above 
all that human ingenuity can contrive, be torn 
from its place. That pearl is figuratively emble- 
matic of the Holy Spirit's influence, the unction 
from above. 

The ray of divinity, the anointing of the Spirit, 
sheds a heavenly effulgence on the page of the 
written gospel, which all human lights but faintly 
emulate. These are merely moons or satellites : 



280 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Christianity is the sun of the system. ' I am the 
light of the world/ says Christ himself. Let us 
remember, that it is the inspiration that makes the 
oracle ; not the priest or the shrine. Take away 
the spring from the time-keeper, and though the 
wheels are curiously contrived, and the gold in 
which it is cased, and the jewels with which it is 
adorned, may still be valuable, yet it will no 
longer be esteemed but as a costly toy, or looked 
at, by those who want information, with confi- 
dence. Thus, the gospel will have no vital, con- 
verting effect, when considered only as an histo- 
rical narrative, with moral precepts occasionally 
interspersed, but unaccompanied with the minis- 
tration of the Holy Spirit. 1 

1 The successful propagation of the gospel could not be 
effected by the causes assigned by Mr. Gibbon, but must have 
been effected by the Holy Ghost. Is it not reasonable to believe 
that it may now be propagated and continued by the same 
means as at first — the powerful agency of heaven ? Let us hear 
a sensible writer on the subject. 

" The sole adequate cause of the successful propagation of 
the gospel is, according to the Scriptures, the Holy Ghost. It 
will be well if his agency, in these polite and rational days, be 
thought to deserve a moment's attention. Yet it is evident, that 
there must be some cause for this wonderful phenomenon. I 
shall not disgust the rational world, by supposing the agency of 
any supernatural being in the affair, but that of the great Author 
of Nature. Any Spirit inimical to him could not, and any 
Spirit obedient to his authority would not, produce a character 
of such goodness, but under his authority, and by a power 
derived from himself. Even miracles cannot change the heart, 
whatever effect they may have on the judgment ; and the ruling 
providence of God, implying only an external government, does 
not influence the will ; as facts abundantly testify. All that is 
rational and human is totally unequal to the task ; nay, perhaps 
the most sensible of mankind, should they deign to honour these 
sheets with their inspection, can scarce bear the idea of a real 
Christian with patience. There is an energy more than human 
which produces this character ; and it remains that this must be 
the influence of the Holy Ghost. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



281 



For political and interested purposes, it may be 
talked of in churches and universities ; it may be 
scholastically defended, and generally professed, 
and yet totally misunderstood and misrepresented. 
It will have no influence 1 on the hearts of men : 
no, not on the hearts of the very persons who thus 
talk of it, profess it, defend it ; nor of those who 
read or listen to the most elaborate apologies, de- 

" The reader who will allow himself seriously to weigh this 
subject, may see that nothing short of this could constitute one 
real Christian, in this or any other age of the church. Let him 
consider, whether it is even possible for mere man to invent 
such doctrines ; much less to propagate them with any success, 
in a world like this. A number of men, possessed of a sixth 
sense, of which we had not the least idea, would find but few 
brought over to their opinion that they were possessed of such a 
sensation. Their pretensions would be construed into pride or 
folly ; but those whom the Most High should endow with 
the same sensation, would easily believe. The application is 
obvious. 

" Thus we have a simple and obvious proof of the truth of 
Christianity (the propagation of it by the influence of the Holy 
Ghost). I fear, indeed, it will weigh but little with those who 
love not the real gospel. The generality will say, c At this 
rate, the majority of those who call themselves Christians, do 
not even know their own religion.' It is devoutly to be wished 
that this were not the case ; that even many that have written 
ably in defence of Christianity, had themselves known its na- 
ture. Much of the advantage which deism has gained had then 
been prevented ; we should have had more of the experimental 
proof ; and that Scripture had been better known, ' He that be- 
lieveth in the Son of God, hath the witness in himself.' (1 John, 
v. 10.) Sceptical doubts will vanish before stubborn facts. 
Were the gospel itself understood, little time need be spent on 
its evidences. One sight of the sun is sufficient to point out its 
glorious Author. In all things else, experience is allowed to be 
the best schoolmaster; in religion only it is called enthusiasm." 
— Milner. 

1 "Judas Iscariot knew Jesus Christ — all that he did — just 
in the same manner (though much better) as a mere historical 
believer of the gospel ; a mere learned theologist. All know- 
ledge of Christ, but that which is by divine inspiration, or the 



282 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



fences, and demonstrations. 1 Christ must be 
formed in the soul, before the soul can recognize 
the truth and efficacy of Christianity. 

Nearly two thousand years have elapsed since 
the written gospel was promulgated ; and it has 
appeared to stand in need of defences and apo- 
logies to this very hour. Nor have defences or 
apologies been deficient in number, or in sagacity 
and erudition. Fabricius reckons up several hun- 

new birth, is but as poor and profitless as the knowledge of 
Judas Iscariot." — Law. 

" The empty, letter-learned knowledge, which the natural 
man can as easily have of the sacred Scriptures and religious 
matters, as any other books or human affairs, being taken for 
divine knowledge, has spread such darkness and delusion all 
over Christendom, as may be reckoned no less than a general 
apostacy from the gospel state of divine illumination." — Ibid. 

" The best ability of the natural man can go no further than 
talk, and notions, and opinions about Scripture words and facts ; 
on these he may be a great critic, an acute logician, a powerful 
orator, and know every thing of the Scripture, except the Spirit 
and the truth."— Ibid. 

1 u He who goes about to speak of the mystery of the Trinity, 
and does it by words and names of man's invention, talking of 
essences and existences, hypostases and personalities, priority in 
co-equalities, and unity in pluralities, may amuse himself, and 
build a tabernacle in his head, and talk something, he knows 
not what ; but the good man, that feels the power of the Father, 
and to whom the Son is become wisdom, sanctification, and re- 
demption, in whose heart the love of the Spirit of God is shed 
abroad, this man, though he understands nothing of what is un- 
intelligible, yet he alone truly understands the Christian doc- 
trine of the Trinity." — Bp. Taylor, on John, vii. 17. 

Miserable and disgraceful have been the rancorous disputes on 
the Trinity ; a subject, one would think, which, if worldly sen- 
timents did not interpose, might be discussed with perfect com- 
posure of temper. The enemy has triumphed, while Christians 
have been tearing each other in pieces on an opinion. 

" But rise ; let us no more contend, nor blame 
Each other, blam'd enough elsewhere ; but strive, 
In offices of love, how we may lighten 
Each other's burden, in our share of woe." — Milton. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



283 



dred books in defence of the Christian religion. 
Diligent as he was, he has omitted many ; and 
since his time, there has been a very considerable 
addition to the number. Yet the cause is said 
still to labour ; and appearances justify the asser- 
tion. Accordingly, we have lately seen ingenious 
theologists, and excellent writers, called forth, by 
the exigencies of the times, in our own country, 
almost two thousand years after the origin of 
Christianity, and after all the preceding labours of 
divines, to display its evidences, as if it were the 
production of yesterday. Such a display is said 
to be more necessary than ever ; and Europe has 
produced many excellent works of the kind. Such 
books furnish exercise for the schools. May they 
be efficacious, as they are learned and ingenious ! 
May they carry conviction to the heart, produce a 
lively faith, and refute the gainsayers! If they 
should fail, their failure must not be attributed to 
any defect of abilities in their authors, but to the 
omission of the internal evidence of the Holy 
Spirit. They are, almost without exception, above 
the reach, and disgusting to the taste, of the mul- 
titude ; and let it be duly remembered, that to 
mere human reason and human learning, the in- 
fidel is ever ready to oppose weapons from the 
same armoury. His heart must be pierced with 
the two-edged sword of the Spirit, before he will 
surrender to faith the citadel of his own reason. 1 

1 The celebrated pamphlet, entitled, Christianity not founded 
on Argument, was certainly nothing more than a piece of irony. 
Nevertheless, many a truth is told in a jest ; and ridentem 
dicer e verum quid vetat 9 

I allow that Christianity is not founded on argument ; and I 
make the concession willingly, because I know that it has a 



284 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



But however the works now alluded to may- 
succeed in carrying conviction to the hearts of 
men, it is certain that different persons, in differ- 
ent ranks of life, with various degrees of natural 
sensibility and intellectual improvement, will be 
struck, respectively, with different arguments, and 
actuated by divers modes of persuasion. A 
learned defence or proof of Christianity, which is 
extolled by some, shall appear to others dull, life- 
less, and totally foreign to the purpose. What 

better foundation. Christianity is not built on the sand ; but, 
like the house of the wise, on the rock — even the rock of ages. 
I will quote the words of the ironical adversary, and 'let them 
avail as much as they can. 

" No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy 
Ghost. Here is pointed out to us that great dictator' and infal- 
lible guide we have been seeking for, and, indeed, the only cha- 
racter we can possibly think of, any way equal to such a 
province. It could be nothing less than omniscience and omni- 
presence itself ; nothing but this inexhaustible fountain of all 
truth, that could be sufficient to such a demand ; and he it is, 
the promised oracle, who is to attend the charge of believers to 
the end of the world ; to keep alive his divine light constantly 
in their hearts ; not to teach them rudiments of logic, but to 
irradiate their souls at once with a thorough conviction ; and 
perform more by one secret whisper, than a thousand clamorous 
harangues from the schools. From the satisfaction consequent 
to the mind from his performance of this great office, it is, that 
he is so eminently styled the Comforter ; as his operations are 
in another place very strongly and significantly termed the 
power of God unto salvation. c He that belie veth in the Son of 
God, hath the witness in himself.' In this sense it is, that we 
are properly styled the temples of the Holy Ghost ; the conse- 
crated scenes of his constant residence, there ever personally 
present, and dispensing his certain intelligences to the soul, 
which the apostle calls the 4 witnessing of the Spirit with our 
spirit.' 

" It were endless to recount all the innumerable passages, 
throughout the whole Scripture, that concur in ascertaining the 
same supernatural and all-sufficient source and origin of our 
faith, in opposition to all the feeble aids and uncertain advices 
that reason might possibly contribute to the purpose. For we 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



285 



is slighted by the few, may convince the many. 
On reading the book of the world, as a comment 
on the books of the library, and turning over the 
pages of experience, as a criterion of written wis- 
dom, I think I have observed that critical and 
historical evidence, in Christian theology, how- 
ever it may edify the scholar, has little or no good 
effect on the multitude. By them it is seldom 
attended to at all; very imperfectly understood 
when attended to; and, when both attended to 

may observe, that in mentioning the principle of faith, we are 
always informed, both what it is, and what it is not. 6 By 
grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves ; 
it is the gift of God. No man can come to me, (says Christ,) 
except it be given him of my Father.' 

" The motive which induces me to receive the mysterious 
truths of the gospel, is the peculiar grant and munificence of 
Heaven, over and above the common privileges of our nature. 
It seems, by the particular negatives every where so industri- 
ously dispersed through all the expressions that treat of this 
subject, that it was apprehended that there might possibly hap- 
pen, amongst the unwary, some mistake on the occasion ; and 
that, therefore, as it was an article of so great concern to have a 
just notion of, the greatest imaginable care was taken, by the 
most precise and emphatical terms that could be devised, to 
guard against any such fatal consequence. 

" But the strongest confirmation of all these positive and re- 
peated revelations on the point, the plainest declaration and di- 
rection what kind of evidence Christians were always to trust to 
and rely on, for the information and assurance of their minds, 
we may find summed up, in brief, in their Master's last instruc- 
tions at parting : < The Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from 
the Father, he shall testify of me.' As we have both the same 
person and commission elsewhere again specified : ' The Spirit, 
whom I shall send, shall lead you into all truth.' 

" But, not to stand for ever transcribing particulars, I refer 
you once more to the great original, which will, I think, 
readily save us, both all further trouble in quotations and com- 
ments, and abundantly evince, in opposition to all the evasive 
constructions which may be imposed on particular passages, that 
He (the Spirit) was in general, to inspire conviction as well as 
holiness ; and to illuminate as well as sanctify our hearts." 



286 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and understood, more frequently raises doubts 
and suspicions, than produces firm belief, and that 
holy frame of mind which regulates the conduct 
of life, and supplies a heartfelt satisfaction. The 
poor, who are the major part of human beings, in 
all ages and countries, and to whom our Saviour 
particularly addressed his preaching, seldom know 
that books of critical theology exist, and would 
certainly never become Christians, or have a just 
idea of what is meant by Christianity, if they were 
not addressed in a manner more authoritative, and 
more divinely influential. 1 

1 u It is worth our observing, that when the apostle calls 
upon his brethren not to be carried about with strange doc- 
trines, he offers this as a preservative : — * It is a good thing that 
the heart be established with grace.' Heb. xiii. 9. This will 
guard us from errors, and this will directly lead us to truth ; for, 
by the effectual influence of God's grace and good Spirit on our 
minds, we shall find in ourselves a peculiar eviction, which will 
prevail more than all demonstrations ; will be more apodictical 
than all arguments and reasonings. I may call this a divine 
kind of logic, which thoroughly confutes and convinces us, 
which answers all our scruples and cavils, and wholly capti- 
vates our understandings; insomuch, that we are fully per- 
suaded of the truth and reality of what is delivered to us. 

" This, which I am now speaking of, is the very depth of 
Christian theology. You are brought, by what I here pro- 
pound unto you, into the most inward recesses of divinity. If 
you come to the true understanding of this, you are arrived at 
the greatest proficiency in the Christian religion. It cannot be 
so well described as it can be experienced. The attainment 
of this excellency, and the discovery, go together. There is no 
better way to apprehend it than to possess it. Religion is bet- 
ter felt and relished by practice, than it can be comprehended in 
the way of speculation ; as the sweetness of honey is better known 
by the taste, than by the description of it. 

" The real and experienced Christian differs from the specu- 
lative one, as the merchant does from the chemist. The former 
hath no skill in furnaces, and cannot talk of the nature of gold, or 
the ordering of it, according to art, yet he is rich, and hath gold 
enough. The latter hath rare notions of gold, and can discourse 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



287 



Different methods of recommending Christian- 
ity, when they all tend to the same beneficial end, 
ought to be adopted and encouraged, because 
they are likelier to be generally successful. One 
and the same method might convince only one 
description of persons among the infinite variety 
of which the mass of mankind is composed. So 
long as Christian faith, Christian practice, and 
human happiness are more and more promoted, 
whosoever are the men, and whatever the books 
that promote them, let the benevolent man rejoice. 
Abstruse scholars, mathematicians, metaphysicians, 
and logicians, have often little relish for Christianity, 
till it is formed into a system, methodical, subtle, 
and erudite. Their religion must too often be 
such, and such only, as furnishes matter for inge- 
nious disquisition. They are apt, in the pride of 
scientific improvement, to despise the simplicity 
of the gospel. A religion, however, merely intel- 
lectual, if there be any which may be so denomi- 
nated, is essentially different from, and inferior to, 
what I have in this book inculcated, under the 
name of cordial religion. The one qualifies for 
degrees in an university school ; the other is cal- 
culated to influence the conduct of all men, in 
the walks of common life ; in the court, in the city, 
in the camp, and in the market-place. High and 
low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, meet 

with great skill and quaintness about the managing of it ; but 
yet the man is poor, and wants what he talks of. In like man- 
ner a true practical Christian may be rich in grace, though he 
cannot learnedly discourse of it ; and a speculative Christian 
may be truly poor, though he can talk of the spiritual riches. — 
Aristotle wrote of the world, but his scholar conquered it.' Dr. 
John Edwards. 



288 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



together in the school of Christ, are there equally 
favoured with grace, and instructed in the know- 
ledge which leadeth to salvation. Ill would it 
fare with mankind, if they must be linguists and 
historians, before they can be duly informed of 
the nature of that religion, which was intended for 
the happiness of all ; and on the neglect and igno- 
rance of which they are obnoxious to divine dis- 
pleasure. 

Systematical or intellectual religion may em- 
ploy the pen of a ready writer, or the tongue of a 
voluble disputant in the academical or ecclesiasti- 
cal chair ; but cordial religion, effectually, though 
silently ; certainly, though unostentatiously sweet- 
ens, softens, and spiritualizes the human dispo- 
sition. It may not gratify the pride or serve the 
worldly interest of individuals, but it elevates and 
refines the general nature of man. 

How is this religion to be learned ? 1 Not 
from systems, not from critics or metaphysicians, 
not from heathen historians and moralists, but by 
the teaching of God, or the divine energy of gos- 
pel grace. Such is the principle of what I have 

1 Xot by the letter, but by the Spirit, was Mary Magdalen 
learned. And how are your family, your mother and sister, 
your servants, your poor neighbour, made Christians — by Dr. 
Clarke ? by academical professors ? or by the gospel accom- 
panied with immediate grace ? 

6 But whom say ye that I am ? Simon Peter answered and 
said, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus 
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar Jona ; 
my Father which is in heaven hath revealed it unto thee.' 
Matt. xvi. 15, &c. 

Our Sa\ iour does not say that Peter had done well to form 
that conclusion, from reasoning on what he saw and heard : or 
deriving the conviction from any human means ; but he says, 
£ Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father 
which is in heaven.' 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



289 



ventured to term Christian Philosophy, 1 in con- 
tradistinction to the philosophy of heathenism, 
and modern infidelity. It is clear, amidst some 
obscurity, 2 from the whole tenour of the gospel 
and epistles, that since our Lord's ascension, the 
beneficial purposes of Christianity are accom- 
plished by the continual agency and never-failing 
superintendence of the Holy Spirit. I would by 
no means proceed so far as a writer some hundred 

1 That experience is the best guide to Christian knowledge, 
is Dr. South's opinion : — 

u The truths of Christ crucified are the Christian's philoso- 
phy ; and a good life is the Christian's logic ; that great instru- 
mental, introductive art, that must guide the mind into the 
former ; and where a long course of piety, and close communion 
with God, has purged the heart, and rectified the will, and made 
all things ready for the reception of God's Spirit, knowledge 
will break in upon such a soul, like the sun shining in his full 
might, with such a victorious ray, that nothing shall be able to 
resist it. 

" It is experience that must give knowledge in the Christian 
profession, as well as all others ; and the knowledge drawn from 
experience is quite of another kind from that which flows from 
speculation and discourse. It is not the opinion, but the path 
of the just, that, the wisest of men tells us, shines more and 
more unto a perfect day. The obedient, and the men of practice, 
are those sons of light, that still outgrow all their doubts and 
ignorances ; that still ride upon these clouds, and triumph over 
their present imperfections ; till persuasion pass into knowledge, 
and knowledge advance into assurance ; and all come, at length, 
to be completed in the beatific vision, and a full fruition of 
those joys, which God has in reserve, for them whom, by his 
grace, he shall prepare for glory." Dr. South. 

Dr. South, a man of wit and most vigorous intellect, was 
particularly active in decrying the doctrine of immediate grace, 
because the court discountenanced those who maintained it : 
and, therefore, what he has here said must be allowed to be ex- 
torted from him, by the force of truth opposing royal influence 
and political religion, which varies as the wind blows. 

1 "The obscurity and difficulty of the Scriptures serves," 
says bishop Wilson, c; to subdue the pride of man ; to convince 
us, that to understand them, we have need of a light superior to 
reason, and that we must apply to God for help." 

V 



290 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



years ago, who, observing the great and constant 
power attributed, by the written gospel, to the 
Holy Ghost, published a book, which he entitled, 
Evangelium Spiritus Sancti ; or, the gospel of the 
Holy Ghost ; but at the same time, it appears to me 
evident, from the declarations of Jesus Christ, that 
the gospel is now chiefly efficacious, as it has been 
ever since the ascension, by the operation of the 
Holy Ghost; the wakeful, tutelary guardian of 
every human creature. He maybe resisted; his 
holy fire may be quenched ; his temple may be 
polluted ; and he may, in consequence, depart in 
displeasure. Happy would it be, if appearances 
did not justify the apprehension, that he is actu- 
ally resisted, his holy fire quenched, his temple 
polluted, and both his displeasure and departure 
little regarded. It is the scope of Christian Phi- 
losophy to prevent this dreadful calamity. 

To enquire how 1 the Spirit operates, is fruit- 
less, if not presumptuous. It is enough for man 
to know, that it does operate; that, unless the 
words of Scripture are violently tortured out of 
their meaning, out of that plain sense which every 
reader of competent judgment and of integrity, 
unwarped by prejudice, must allow them to bear, 
the Spirit of God is at this moment effecting, in 
the bosoms of all who are duly prepared for its 
energy, the grand purpose of our Saviours in- 
carnation. Great, indeed, is the mystery : but 
equally mysterious are the processes of nature. 2 
All around us a mystery. Our very existence, 

1 Ci Vocula ilia quomodo" Luther used to say, " est detestabi- 
lis. n — iC The little word c how'' is detestable." 

* " Is the doctrine of grace more stupendous than the velo- 
city of motion given to light ?" Bp. Warburton. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



291 



our nutrition, the motion of a muscle in our bo- 
dies, is a wonderful arcanum, too difficult to be 
accounted for by reason. Yet, I believe, I know 
that e I live, and move, and have my being,' though 
I cannot explain the union of soul and body, the 
mode of alimentary supply, or the cause of mus- 
cular motion. So also the spiritual life and mo- 
tion are inexplicable. But this is certain — he 
who believes the Scriptures, must believe its re- 
ality. And he who is once truly and experi- 
mentally 1 convinced of the Spirit's operation, will 
want no other evidence ; and he who tastes the 
fruits of the Spirit, will desire no other display of 
the excellence of Christianity. Thus will the pur- 
pose of my book be accomplished. The evidence 
and excellence of Christianity will be felt 2 and 

1 H rt]Q ITEIPAS aicpiteia kclthjxvu rrjv rcov Xoytov 
iriOavorrjTa" — Diod. Sic. Hist. lib. i. " The accurate and 
certain knowledge of actual experience, surpasses all that can be 
taught by the persuasive powers of oratory or composition." 

Prayer is the means of producing this experience in religion. 

" If mankind are corrupted and depravedfin their moral cha- 
racter, and so are unfit for that state which Christ is gone to pre- 
pare for his disciples ; and if the assistance of God's Spirit be 
necessary to renew their nature, in the degree requisite to their 
being qualified for that state, all which is implied in the ex- 
press, though figurative declaration, e Except a man be born of 
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God supposing 
this, is it possible any serious person can think it a slight mat- 
ter, whether or no he makes use of the means, expressly com- 
manded by God, for obtaining this divine assistance ; especially 
since the whole analogy of nature shows that we are not to ex- 
pect any benefits, without making use of the appointed means 
for obtaining or enjoying them ? Now reason shows us nothing 
of the particular immediate means of obtaining spiritual bene- 
fits. This, therefore, we must learn from Revelation." And 
Revelation says, ask, and it shall be given. — Butler's Anal. 
Part ii. c. 1. 

9 " We not only believe it, but we feel it too ; we feel the 
comfortable influences, the sacred emanations of the Holy Spirit 

u 2 



2 L J2 christian philosophy. 

acknowledged by every man, who becomes a con- 
vert to the doctrine of grace. He will acquire a 
spiritual understanding; 1 his rational faculty, as 
to spiritual matters, will be sublimed and refined 
in such a manner, as to supersede the necessity of 
those voluminous, far-fetched, and elaborate proofs 
and defences of Christianity which have been enu- 
merated, in a long catalogue, by Fabricius ; and 
which, one after another, like abortive, produc- 
tions, have dropped into the gulf of oblivion, and 
left Christianity just where they found it. Indeed, 
as defences of this kind have increased, Chris- 
tians appear to have decreased. The cavils in- 
troduced for refutation have lived, and the refuta- 
tions died and been forgotten. 

But doctrines which cannot be refuted by Scrip- 
ture, are sometimes exploded by the illiberal means 
of stigmatizing them with an offensive or unpo- 
pular name. This practice has always been high- 
ly detrimental to the diffusion of genuine Christi- 
anity. It causes opinions to be condemned in 
the gross. It induces the mind of the careless, 
contemptuously to reject the mass, without select- 
ing the wheat from the chaff, and, indeed, without 
the trouble of examination. There is a vicissi- 

upon us; more particularly at those offices of devotion, wherein 
he descends upon us also, as he did once upon our blessed Savi- 
our, like a dove, and sheds his grace upon us, in some measure, 
with those excellencies which become the sons of God. 

" OrVather, he descends upon us, as he did once before, upon the 
face of the waters, when he brought beauty and order upon that 
which before was nothing but deformity and confusion." — Bp. 
Hickman. 

1 Col. i. 9. "We pray for you that ye may be filled with 
the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual under- 
standing." Again, 4C Consider what I say, and the Lord give 
thee understanding in all things."— 2 Tim. ii. 7. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



293 



tude or fashion in religious doctrines, as well as 
in the modes of dress and external behaviour. 
Such a book, says the leader of the day, is Armi- 
nian, or Calvinistical, or Methodistical, 1 and it 
must be cried down by every pamphleteer or con- 
troversialist, who is aspiring 1 at favour and prefer- 
ment. But away with names, and the petty dis- 

1 Bishop Hurd is as far removed from a Methodist as possi- 
ble. He is a divine, a philosopher, a scholar of the first rank ; 
yet hear him (and let his words have weight) on the evidence of 
the Spirit of God on the heart of man. 

" To the Spirit, enlightening our understandings, purifying 
our wills, and confirming our faith, we must impute all that is 
good in us, all that proficiency in true holiness, which qualifies 
us for the enjoyment of heaven ; and through this discipline it 
is, that they * who sow to the Spirit,' are, in the end, c enabled 
of the Spirit to reap life everlasting.' 

cc All the revelations of God's will, even to our Lord himself 
as the man Christ Jesus, and all the secret illuminations of the 
faithful, in all times, are to be regarded as so many emanations 
from the Spirit of God, the enlightener : all the gradual im- 
provements of our virtue, all the graces which first descend upon 
our hearts, and then manifest themselves in every good word and 
work, are the production of the same Spirit, in his office of sanc- 
tifier : and lastly, all the firmness and resolution we possess, 
under every trial in the world, all the foretaste we have of 
future favour and acceptance, all our joy and peace in believing, 
are the signs and proofs of the Comforter speaking to us, and, 
according to our Saviour's promise, abiding in us. 

<4 If a ray of light break in upon us ; if a new degree of 
knowledge be imparted to us ; if we see the truth of the gospel 
more clearly, in any respect, than before we had done ; we can- 
not mistake in ascribing this additional information or conviction, 
to the illuminating spirit within us. 

" If we perceive our devotions to be quickened, our hopes 
enlivened, our faith fortified, we shall not mistake (having the 
express promise of our Lord and Master) in ascribing these 
consolations of peace and joy to the Comforter ; we may regard 
them as the earnest and pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. — 
Eph. i. 14. 

" I know," continues he, " that this will appear strange to 
natural reason. But so the Scripture has prepared us to expect 
they would do. For the natural man (says the apostle) receiveth 



294 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



tinctions of religious party. Are you a Chris- 
tian, or wish to be one, indeed, not in word only ; 
for the sake of spiritual, not temporal purposes ? 
Then drop your prejudices, and seek the Spirit of 
Christianity ; not in systems, but in the written 
gospel, assisted by prayer, and the pious illustra- 
tions of sincere, good men, however they may have 
been reviled or neglected, through prejudice, poli- 
tical artifice, or mistaken zeal. When you have 
thus found the truth, show its influence by your 
charity. Be united to all Christians, as well as to 
Christ ; and beware of making distinctions, by 
nicknames, and thus exciting envy, wrath, malice, 
which are of a nature opposite to the fruits of the 
Spirit, love, joy, and peace. Good men should 
join in a firm phalanx, that the evil may not tri- 
umph on their divisions. Let all who are united 
under the banners of Christ, hail one another as 
brother Christians, though they may differ on the 
subject of church discipline, rites, ceremonies, or 
even non-essential doctrine. 1 

not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness 
unto him. — 1 Cor. ii. 14. And to the same purpose, our Master 
himself, speaking of the spirit of truth ; whom (says he) the 
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth 
him ; but ye, (addressing himself to his disciples, that is, to men 
who walk by faith, and not by sight,) ye know him ; for he 
dwelleth in you, and shall be in you." — Bp. Hurd. Serm. xviii. 
vol. ii. 

1 u Setting aside many circumstances, in which men may 
safely err, there are but few truths of Scripture of an essential 
nature ; or, to speak more properly, there is but one, concerning 
which all believers (I mean those who deserve the name) are 
firmly agreed. This truth is the testimony of the word of God 
concerning Jesus Christ, that he came into the world to save 
sinners fully, freely, and eternally. So little room, then, in 
reality, does the Scripture give for the diversity of opinions, that 
it calls for perfect unity of sentiment ; the diversity itself being 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



295 



( If there be any consolation in Christ, if any 
comfort in love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if 
any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye 
be like-minded, having the same love, being of 
one accord, and of one mind.' 1 

Let us consider how the hard-hearted, uncon- 



owing to the corruption and blindness of human nature in the 
worst, as well as the remains of that corruption and blindness in 
the best. The evidence of this truth, whence arises so full an 
agreement among believers, and such complete satisfaction in 
their own minds, is far greater than what can arise from any 
argumentation, in which mankind are apt to deceive both them- 
selves and others. It is the evidence of internal experience. I 
feel myself lost and miserable. I experience such a healthful 
change in my whole moral system : so that, upon the whole, 
Christianity is the true cure of scepticism ; and to the seriously 
disposed, who submit to the teaching of the Spirit, it gives the 
highest internal evidence of its own truth. A man finds him- 
self naturally averse to all good, ignorant of God, and without 
either love or gratitude towards him, selfish and hard-hearted 
with respect to his fellow-creatures. By putting his trust in 
Christ, he has attained peace of conscience, love, and new views 
of the glory of God. He has experienced a real change in his 
affections and tempers. Surely he must be allowed to be a 
competent judge of what he has felt ; he may preach too, by 
his life, the truth and the power of the gospel to others ; and as 
he will find his evidences increase more and more, he may be 
more and more happy, from the consciousness of God within 
him now, (Col. i. 27 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5,) and the prospect of bliss 
hereafter. 

" If it be asked, where are such persons to be found ? it is 
confessed their number is but rare. We may thank for this, 
the contempt of the operations of the Holy Ghost, which pre- 
vails in our days. A serious desire of knowing the real truth, 
and a spirit of submission to this divine teaching, are things 
which the truth requires of all who seek it : if you refuse this, 
you unreasonably refuse to Christianity her own mode and order 
of things ; you strip her of her arms, and then complain of her 
feebleness and impotency. But if you submit to be the scholar 
of Jesus indeed, you will find, by experience, whether he will not 
give you to know the truth, and whether the truth will not 
make you free." — Milner. 

1 Phil.ii. 1,2. 



296 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



verted, depraved, and worthless part of mankind 
exult, while Christians, agreeing in essentials, 
quarrel and revile each other, not on the substance 
of religion, but on the mere shades of difference in 
opinion in matters of indifference. Let not the 
Philistians triumph. Let the olive-bearing army 
of peace-makers be combined under the banners 
of benevolence. Theirs is an unbloody crusade; 
theirs is the contest of love. The victories in their 
warfare are over sin, misery, and death ; and their 
crown, immortality. Let them march on to the 
soft harmony of Hosannahs and Hallelujahs, unin- 
terrupted by the discordant din of angry conten- 
tion. Are you a sincere believer ? a lover of God 
and man ? I salute you from my heart as my 
brother in Christ, whether, in consequence of your 
birth and education, you formed the creed you 
utter, at Rome, at Geneva, or in your closet at 
home. The Holy Ghost is the centre of our union ; 
and all who are joined to him, must be associated 
in love. 

Under the illustrious champions of Christianity, 
who flourished, in England, during the last cen- 
tury, great were the triumphs of grace over human 
obduracy. ' The word of God was mighty, and 
cast down imaginations.' 1 The sword of the Spirit, 
a figurative sword, the only one approved by Chris- 
tianity, wielded by men who, like these, fought the 
good fight of faith, has been irresistible. But 
many, since their time, have let it rust in its scab- 
bard, and used, as a substitute for it, the wooden 
baton of heathen ethics and modern philosophy, 
in a kind of mock fight, beating the air, to the 

1 2 Cor. ix. v. Sia\oyL<Tfjiovg, which we render imaginations, 
certainly signifies reasonings. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



297 



amusement of the indifferent or unbelieving spec- 
tator. The men of the world, who laugh at reli- 
gion, and the pretended philosophers who reason 
against it, observing that the sword of the Spirit 
was no longer used, came forth with the renewed 
and increased audacity of those who love to display 
their prowess, when there is but a feeble opposi- 
tion. They sang the song of victory, and ventured 
to suggest that Christianity, conscious of the bad- 
ness of her cause, had surrendered in fact, though 
she still kept up the appearance of defence, for the 
sake of decency, lucre, and political deception. 
Infidelity plumed herself on her fancied conquest, 
and has long been endeavouring to sway her sceptre 
over the most polished countries of Christendom. 
In France, at last, she flatters herself she has gained 
a complete victory, and silenced her opponent for 
ever. 

Let us mark and deplore the consequence to 
mortals and society. Extreme selfishness, pride, 
vanity, envy, malice, hardness of heart, fraud, 
cunning, and the false varnish of external deco- 
rum, hiding internal deformity, have remarkably 
prevailed in recent times, in the most polished re- 
gions, rendering man, as an individual, wretched 
and contemptible, and society comfortless and in- 
secure. The human race has degenerated, in pro- 
portion as faith has diminished. The true spirit of 
Christianity, which can alone dignify human na- 
ture, and soften and liberalize the obdurate, con- 
tracted, selfish bosom of the mere natural, animal 1 

1 I hope the present time is not that of which the apostle 
speaks : c The time will come when they will not endure sound 
doctrine.' — 2 Tim. iv. 13. 

Men who preach against divine grace, may be said to be those 



298 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



man, has not been sufficiently diffused, since it has 
been fashionable to extol natural religion, by de- 
preciating grace ; and the result has been, a deplor- 
able profligacy both in principle and practice. 

How devoutly then is it to be wished, that this 
true spirit may revive ; that the divine influence of 
the genuine gospel 1 may again prevail, and melt 
the heart of steel, and bow the stubborn knees of 
the men of the world, and the wise men whom the 
world admires ? Behold them pursuing their own 
petty, selfish, sordid purposes, regardless of all 
others, but as they serve their own interest or plea- 
sure ; neither loving God nor man, and depraved 
to a nature almost diabolical, by habits of fashion- 
able voluptuousness, selfishness, and cruelty, au- 
thorized by the most illustrious examples in high 
life. Behold this diabolical character transforming 
itself to an angel of light, by studied embellish- 
ments and polished manners, in which truth, ho- 
nour, and benevolence are assumed as a cloak to 
cover the basest treachery, and the vilest arts of dis- 
simulation. Behold this character recommended, 
with all the charms of language, by one of the first 
noblemen, wits, and writers of the times, as the 
mark of the most solid wisdom ; behold it, in con- 
sequence of recommendation so powerful, spread- 
ing among the youth of the nation, and diffusing a 
polished, splendid misery, like the shining appear- 

whom Christ addresses in these words : c Ye shut up the king- 
dom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, 
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.' — Matt, xxiii. 
13. 

But while God's eternal truth is its foundation, and God's 
Holy Spirit its guard, neither violence nor treachery can subvert 
the kingdom of heaven. 

1 \pv\iKog. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



299 



ance which is seen on masses of corruption and 
putrescence. ' Ye are the salt of the earth/ says 
our Saviour ; evidently meaning the salt that is to 
preserve the world from a corrupt state, by becom- 
ing the means of grace to those who hear you 
preach and teach the true doctrine. How is he 
then the friend of man, or of his country, who ob- 
structs the prevalence of such doctrine ? Yet men, 
apparently good and learned, have united with the 
unprincipled, in placing every obstacle in the way 
of its diffusion among the people. 

The grace of God is favourable to the tranquillity 
and security of the state; to the community, as 
well as to individuals, by teaching virtue of the 
most beneficial kind under the strongest sanction. 
' The grace of God,' says the apostle, ' teaches us 
to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
live soberly, righteously, and godly in the world.' 
Yet against the prevalence of this grace of God, 
many pens and tongues have been employed during 
the last fourscore years ; the pens and tongues, not 
of profligate infidels only, but of divines, teaching, 
for Christianity, a moral system of philosophy, 
well known 1 long before the nativity of Christ ; and 

1 Yet the heathens themselves, mere moralists as they are 
often considered, had an idea of the divine energy. Remark- 
able are the words of Maximus Tyrius. 

Do you wonder that God was present with Socrates, friendly, 
and prophetic of futurity, — an inmate of his mind ? — A man, 
he was, pure in his body, good in his soul, exact in the conduct 
of his life, masterly in thinking, eloquent in speaking, pious 
towards God, and holy towards men." 

The doctrine of divine assistance, or of the immediate opera- 
tion of the heavenly Spirit on the mind of man, is so far from 
unreasonable, that it was maintained by some of the greatest 
masters of reason, before the appearance of Christianity. 

The heathens did not affirm that the knowledge they possessed 
of theology was derived to them from reason ; for Plato ex- 



300 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



thus rendering, as far as their efforts could prevail, 
his gospel a superfluous, and even ugly excrescence 
upon it. There is a kind of wisdom, we are told on 
the best authority, ' which descended] not from 

pressly says it is Qeojv elc avOowTroig docng, the gift of the gods 
to men — the effect of divine communication. They deemed it 
supernatural, that reason should discover the will of God ; a gift 
above nature, (cuptav VTrep tyvviv vucwcrav ri]v <£ucriy,) and 
overcoming nature in its present state of imbecility. The dead may 
as easily arise and walk, as the mind of man, fallen, as it is, into 
a spiritual death, raise itself to God and a divine life. Nothing 
can enable man to do those things which are above his natural 
powers, but supernatural aid, and that must come from the in- 
fluence of the Deity. 

It is, however, worth while to mark the discordant and incon- 
sistent opinions of celebrated heathens on the subject of divine 
assistance. Seneca, Epist 41. — 66 No man is a good man with- 
out the assistance of God." 

Deus in humano corpore hospitans. Epist. 31. — " God 
dwelling in the human body." 

Yet this same philosopher says, in another place, Est aliquid 
quo sapiens antecedat Deum. Ille naturae beneficio, non suo, 
sapiens est. " In one respect a philosopher excels God. God 
is obliged to nature for his wisdom, and cannot help being so. 
The philosopher thanks himself only." Epist. 53. 

Atque hoc quid em omnes mortales sic habent, externas com- 
moditates, vineta, segetes, oliveta, ubertatem, frugum et fruc- 
tuum, omnem, denique commoditatem, prosperitatemque vita?, 
a Diis se habere ; virtutem autem nemo unquam acceptam Deo 
retulit. Nimirum recte. Propter virtutem enim jure laudamur, 
et in virtute recte gloriamur. Quod non contingeret, si id donum 
a Deo, non a nobis haberemus. At vero aut honoribus aucti, 
aut re familiari, aut si aliud quippiam nacti sumus fortuiti boni, 
depulimus mali, cum Diis gratias agimus, turn nihil nostra? 
laudi assumptum arbitramur. Num quis, quod bonus vir esset, 
gTatias Diis egit unquam ? at quod dives, quod honoratus, quod 
incolumis. Ad rem autem ut redeam, judicium hoc omnium 
mortalium est, fortunam a Deo petendam, a seipso sumendam 
esse sapientiam." — Cicero, de Nat. Deor. lib. iii. c. 36. — 
fct All mankind hold the opinion, that external advantages, 
such as vineyards, corn-fields, olive-gardens, abundance of all 
the various fruits of the earth ; lastly, every thing that tends to 
the accommodation and prosperity of life, is derived from the 
gods ; but no man ever acknowledged himself indebted to God 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



301 



above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish / 1 No won- 
der that men, who are taught, by their instructors, 
to pursue this wisdom, and, in effect, to reject the 
gospel at the very moment they are solemnly pro- 
fessing- it, should become (like the wisdom which 
they cultivate, and which the apostle so strongly 
reprobates) earthly, sensual, devilish. Much of the 
profligacy of manners in the present century is to 

for his virtue. Undoubtedly this judgment is right and reason- 
able. For we are properly commended for our virtue, and we 
justly glory in our virtue ; which could not be, if it were a gift 
of God, and not a possession derived entirely from ourselves. 
But different is the case when we receive any accession of honour 
and fortune, or if we get any unlooked-for advantage or avoid 
any imminent evil ; for then, as we thank God for it, so we as- 
sume no merit or praise to ourselves on the occasion. 

" Did any man ever return thanks to the gods that he was a 
good man ? No ; he returns thanks to the gods because he is a 
rich man, because he has received some public honour, or be- 
cause he enjoys a state of safety. 

" To return then to the point I am maintaining. It is the 
unanimous opinion of mankind, that success or good fortune in 
the world is to be sought of God, but that wisdom is to be de- 
rived from oneself entirely." — Cicero de Nat. 

Multus et nostra civitas et Graecia tulit singulares viros quo- 
rum neminem, nisi juvante Deo, talem fuisse credendum est. — 
Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. ii. — " Our country (Rome) as well as 
Greece has produced many extraordinary men, not one of whom, 
can I believe, would ever have been such, but by the assistance 
of God." 

Nemo igitur vir magnus sine aliquo afflatu divino usquam 
fuit. — Cic. " No man was ever a great man without something 
of divine inspiration." 

Hie est quisquam gentis ullius qui ducem naturam nactus ad 
virtu tern pervenire potest ? Cic. Leg. — " Is there any man of 
any country in the world who, by the mere guidance of nature, 
could attain to virtue ?" 

Both Cicero's and Seneca's sentiments on this subject are con- 
tradictory. 

Aeovrai 'ivvaywvi^ov Ssov kcli '£vWr}7rropog. Max. Tyr, 
Diss. 22.— " Men stand in need of God as an assistant and co- 
operator." 

1 James, iii. 15. 



302 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



be attributed to the desertion of the religion of our 
forefathers, and the teaching of a Christianity which 
has not the savour of life, and was unknown in 
England at the Reformation. 

' Earthly, sensual, devilish,' are the epithets 
which the apostle uses : now let us turn from the 
written book to the living world. Can any impar- 
tial observer deny, without affected candour, that 
there are many whose conduct deserves these epi- 
thets ? and can he deny, that they are chiefly 
among persons who seem to live without God in 
the world, and to be unbelievers in revelation, 
though perhaps conformists to the church ? Such 
persons seem to delight in evil ; and, like the being 
from whom the last of these epithets is taken, to go 
about, seeking whom they may devour. 1 No man 
can be much conversant in any business in the 
world, especially where there is competition, with- 
out meeting with men who hesitate at no falsehood 
or baseness, and with whom it is never safe to have 
either conversation or transaction. Plausibly pre- 
tending to courteousness, to friendship, to every 
thing just, right, and amiable, they lie in wait to 
deceive and to injure. They will do wanton mis- 
chief, for its own sake. They will not only demo- 
lish the fair fabric of another's happiness, but 
laugh over the ruins which they have made. 

How beneficial would it be for such persons, and 

1 Read, in the following description from Scripture, how men 
once degenerated, when estranged from God. 

" So that there reigned in all men, without exception, blood, 
manslaughter, theft and dissimulation ; corruption, unfaithful- 
ness, tumults, perjury, disquieting of good men, forgetfulness of 
good turns, defiling of souls, changing of kind, disorder in mar- 
riages, adultery, and shameless uncleanness." — Wisdom, c. xiv. 
23—29. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



303 



for society, if their hearts were renewed by rege- 
nerating grace ; if they could be persuaded to be- 
lieve that there really is something more desirable 
than mammon ; something that contributes more 
to happiness, and the pleasurable enjoyment of life, 
than show, equipage, living in the "eyes of others, 
and the indulgence of an unfeeling, self-idolizing 
vanity at the expense of truth, justice, mercy, and 
every thing that gives solid satisfaction and real 
dignity. The grace of God would even adorn them, 
make them more estimable and honourable than 
the longest series of unmeaning titles, the most 
brilliant gems in a coronet, the most magnificent 
houses and parks, and most gaily-painted vehicles. 
It would do more ; it would liberalize and soften 
their hearts, and make them men, such as the 
Creator intended them to be, feelingly alive to the 
charms of goodness, and to the touch of sympathy. 
The film would be removed from their eyes ; and 
while they consulted the peace and happiness of 
others, they would see the things that belong unto 
their own. The horizon of their mental vision, 
now all sombrous and cloudy, would be beautifully 
serene. The stream of their lives, now a desolating 
tjorrent, ^abruptly dashing and foaming over its 
banks, would flow in its proper channel, smooth 
and clear, blest and blessing in its course. 

Surely every thinking and good-natured mortal, 
who observes what a despicable and detestable, or 
rather pitiable object, a man may become, however 
elevated his rank and affluent his fortune, when his 
heart is hardened, and he feels no sentiment of love 
to God, or kindness to his fellow-creatures, must 
wish to promote, and gladly co-operate with others 
in promoting, the prevalence of the true Spirit of 



304 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



Christianity. 1 This alone, operating by grace, can 
restore the depraved, fallen, wretched creature, be- 
come, by his perverseness, earthly, sensual, devilish, 
to his proper rank, as a rational, immortal being, 
and to the unspeakable happiness for which he was 
intended by divine benevolence. 

1 The true spirit of Christianity can alone preserve the church 
and sincere religion in society. 

" I must profess, that I believe the degeneracy from the truth 
and power of the Christian religion, the ignorance of the prin- 
cipal doctrines of the gospel, and that scorn which is cast on 
these, and the like expressions, on the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, by such as not only profess themselves to be ministers, 
but of a higher degree than ordinary, will be sadly ominous to 
the whole state of the reformed church amongst us, if not timely 
repressed and corrected." — Dr. Owen. 

The Scriptures themselves attribute the corruption of religion, 
and even the total loss of divine knowledge, to the reasonings of 
men upon it ; when they regard the outward, and neglect or des- 
pise the inward testimony. 

There is no truth more clearly asserted in Scripture, than that 
the things of God are not known but by the Spirit of God. 

6 The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned.' — 1 Cor. ii. 14. 

6 He that lacketh these things,' (the graces mentioned in a 
preceding verse, particularly the partaking of the divine nature,) 
fc is blind, and cannot see afar off.' — 2 Pet. i. 9. 

Men wanting these graces, and this participation of the divine 
nature, we are expressly told, c grew vain in their imaginations;' 
professing themselves wise, they became fools ; worshipping the 
creature (and among the created things is to be numbered the 
faculty of reasoning) more than the Creator. They spoiled the 
religion of Christ, through philosophy and vain deceit, after the 
traditions of men, and turned the truth of God into a lie. This 
was in consequence of following the rudiments of the world, Kara 
ra roixtia according to the elements and principles of natural 
reason and philosophy. Wherefore the apostle would have them 
dead to the rudiments of the world, for they are only the com- 
mandments and doctrines of men, vainly puffed up by their 
fleshly mind, and science falsely so called, consisting of foolish 
and unlearned questions, which served only to gender strife. 
—2 Tim. ii. 23. 

The apostle gives Timothy a description of human learning 



1 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 305 

Mine is an humble attempt to promote the pre- 
valence of the true spirit of Christianity. In re- 
commending the doctrine which this book parti- 
cularly enforces, I know that I am justified by the 
holy Scriptures, 1 by the church, by the tenets of 
the most learned and virtuous of the dissenters, 
and the greatest divines of this country, who have 
displayed their abilities either by the press or the 
pulpit. I claim no merit, but that of endeavour- 
ing* to rescue the true and most momentous doc- 
trine of the gospel from the neglect and contempt 
in which it has been involved, during this century, 

unaccompanied with divine grace ; and says, that c it is proud 
knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of 
words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings 
perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute 
of the truth.' (1 Tim. vi. 4 ; 2 Tim. ii. 14.) He therefore 
bids him put them in remembrance, charging them before 
the Lord, not to strive with words to no profit, but to the 
perverting of the hearer ; for they will increase into more un- 
godliness, (they will cause infidels to grow more obstinate 
and disputatious in defence of their unbelief,) and their 
words will eat as cankers; (they will, by submitting the 
claims of Christianity to human reason only, eat up and de- 
stroy its very essence, which is divine.) Therefore he again dis- 
suades 6 foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they do 
gender strifes;' that instead of settling disputes, and confirming 
men in the faith, they provoke controversy, multiply doubts, and 
are ultimately a fruitful cause of infidelity. " If you are deter- 
mined to rely on reasoning," said the Tindals, Collinses, Mor- 
gans, Chubbs, and Paines, " we will accept your challenge, and 
fight you with the weapons of your own choice." They 
fought; and, in the opinions of many deluded persons, were 
often victorious. 

It is a sad instance of imprudence in the leaders of our Chris- 
tian warfare, when they give up the sword of the Spirit, and rely 
entirely on the xl/povrj/jia aapKog for protection and defence. The 
doctrine of grace furnishes a panoply. 

1 "He who doubts it, quarrels not with our creed, but our 
grammar ; and instead of going to church to be instructed better, 
he ought to be sent to school." Bishop Hickman. 

x 



306 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



by false policy and partiality, expressing their 
rancorous hatred to sects, deemed, at various 
times, injurious to certain worldly interests, and 
temporary purposes of state. Christianity itself 
has been wounded by weapons aimed only at 
men whose political sentiments might perhaps 
be wrong, though their religious were, for the 
most part, strictly conformable to Scripture, 1 and 
beneficial to every community. 

I confess myself, in this attempt, to be only the 
pupil of those great masters whose opinions I have 
copiously cited, that they may be both an orna- 
ment and defence to my imperfect manual of 
Christian Philosophy. Some of the greatest de- 
ceased divines of the church of England, next to 
the Scriptures, are my chief authority. Happy am 
I to sit at the feet of such instructors; men, whose 
learning and abilities were of the very first magni- 
tude, and whose piety and goodness of heart seem 
to have vied, for excellence, with their vigorous 
understandings, and accurate knowledge of Scrip- 
tural theology. It is honour enough to be merely 
instrumental in republishing their salutary doc- 
trines, and giving them the inconsiderable sanc- 
tion of my public, though single vote. If they 
were now alive, they would be most anxiously dili- 
gent, in the present state of Christianity, in ex- 
citing the true spirit of vital and experimental re- 
ligion. Never was there more occasion for their 
zeal and activity than now ; and it appears to me, 
that their mode of recommending Christianity 



1 Many who dislike the discipline and communion of our 
church, firmly adhere to the articles- of it. 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



307 



was a right mode, because, among other reasons, it 
has the test of experience in its favour. 

The fact is incontrovertible, that in their times 
it was greatly successful. The true spirit of 
Christianity, during their ministry of the gospel, 
mightily grew and prevailed. Infidelity was un- 
common and infamous ; and the mild, meek, placid 
temper of the gospel was deemed, even in the 
highest ranks of society, not only conducive to 
happiness, but ornamental. Religious grace was 
valued above all graceful accomplishments. Men 
gloried in maintaining, openly and consistently, 
the Christian character ; and the force of truth, 
not weakened by false politics, made it even a 
fashion. 

I have laboured to revive the principles of those 
times; not without a hope that they may have 
similar success in our day, if duly encouraged by 
high example. Men are doubtless, now as well as 
ever, susceptible of religious impressions, if pro- 
perly enforced on evangelical authority. The 
times, it is said, are altered ; but let it be remem- 
bered, that men make the times, and that men are 
very much modelled by books and all public in- 
struction. 

It is certainly unwise, in the present adverse 
circumstances of Christendom, to neglect or dis- 
countenance any mode of effectually disseminating 
and confirming the Christian faith, more especially 
any mode which has in past times been found 
successful, and is authorized by Scripture. 

For myself, I must beg leave to say, what is 
indeed sufficiently evident, that I have been in 
search of truth, not of favour or advantage. I 
have deemed religion lovely enough to be wedded 



308 



CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 



without a dowry. I have had no sinister view, 
but have employed my hours of leisure in a way 
which I thought might be most beneficial to my 
fellow-creatures and my country. If I am wrong 
in my doctrine, if my great masters have in- 
structed me erroneously, I am open to conviction, 
and shall rejoice to be better informed. I will 
say with the poet, addressing the Father of 
Lights : 

u If I am right, thy grace impart, 
Still in the right to stay ; 
If I am wrong, O teach my heart 
To find that better way." 

In the mean time, I make this offering to my 
fellow-mortals, labouring, like myself, in pursuit 
of happiness, though, many of them, in a different 
mode ; and I dedicate it, with sincere devotion, to 
truth, piety, and peace. 



THE END. 



J. Rickerby, Printer, Shei bourn Lane, London. 




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